IT Carlow set to appeal expulsion from Fitzgibbon Cup

Uncertainty surrounds the Fitzgibbon Cup after IT Carlow last night confirmed they were appealing their expulsion from the competition.

GAA officials in the college will meet this morning to finalise their appeal to the Central Appeals Committee (CAC).

The IT Carlow management are keen to ensure all paperwork is in order before tabling their appeal.

DJ Carey’s outfit, off the back of a complaint lodged by Mary I, were dumped out of the Fitzgibbon Cup for fielding an ineligible player in two of their three Group C fixtures this month.

The Comhairle Ardoideachais (CA) Hearings committee yesterday ruled that James Gannon — a part-time Business student at the college — did not meet the eligibility criteria to line out for DJ Carey’s side.

Question marks now hang over the playing of Thursday’s rescheduled quarter-finals — Mary I, reinstated yesterday, host DIT, while WIT travel to LIT (both games throw in at 3pm). WIT were due to host DIT at Carriganore tomorrow, but conceded home advantage following Mary I’s reinstatement.

Unless the CAC hearing and subsequent ruling is arrived at before tomorrow night, the two quarter-finals are expected to be postponed until early next week — the semi-finals and final are pencilled in for Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28.

IT Carlow’s removal from the Fitzgibbon Cup is the second eligibility row to overshadow this year’s third-level competitions. IT Sligo and QUB were both thrown out of the Sigerson Cup for fielding ineligible players, with both reinstated on appeal to the CAC.

Gannon, a native of Ballyragget, Kilkenny, featured at corner-back in the victories over Maynooth and Mary I. Doubts surrounding his eligibility were raised in the wake of their 4-17 to 1-17 win over Mary I last Tuesday, the result advancing IT Carlow to the quarter-finals by virtue of a superior score difference over Mary I.

The teacher-training college looked into the Glanbia course through which Gannon is enrolled at the college, lodging a complaint to Comhairle Ardoideachais on Friday.

Mary Immaculate College successfully argued to the Hearings Committee during a three-hour meeting in Portlaoise on Sunday night and, indeed, a second convening on Monday afternoon that Business student Gannon was only doing a part-time course, which made him ineligible to play for IT Carlow under CA bye-laws

In the first two quarter-finals tomorrow, Cork IT host NUIG at 2pm, while at 3pm UL welcome UCD.

Meanwhile Loughmore Castleiney’s motion aimed at shortening the 13-day rule will end the second-class treatment of club players, according to the club’s chairman Dick Egan.

The Tipperary club have proposed reducing from 13 to eight the number of days inter-county players aren’t available to their club before a championship game, and lowering from 20 to 13-days their unavailability before the All-Ireland final.

Egan said amending the 13-day rule would end the practice of inter-county managers dictating club schedules and the culling of club games during the height of summer.

Loughmore Castleiney successfully defended their county senior football title on St Stephen’s Day, a full month and a half after Tipperary’s representatives were pencilled in for Munster club action — the motivating factor in tabling this motion.

“I know there was the drawn All-Ireland hurling final and the replay three weeks later, but you shouldn’t have the case where we won the Tipperary championship almost two months after the Tipperary champions were to play in Munster,” he said.