This is where we want to be, says Carlow IT boss Noel Garvan

They’ve no intention of apologising for their presence at the Mardyke, no intention of writing themselves off or treating today’s fixture against UCC as merely bonus territory.

Such a dismissive attitude would make for a pointless journey south, according to IT Carlow football manager Noel Garvan.

The first-time Sigerson Cup semi-finalists venture to Leeside this afternoon bidding to further establish themselves on the third-level scene. Having failed to record a single Sigerson Cup win between 2012-14, former Laois footballer Garvan has overseen quite an upturn in the college’s fortunes this spring – UL and IT Tralee conquered on their home patch en-route to the semi-final round.

“If you asked us at the start of the year did we believe we would wind up at the semi-final stage, we would have said no. We’re surprised to be here. And I’m sure everyone else is just as surprised to see us here,” said Garvan.

“As the competition progressed, so too did our belief and confidence. We are up against it big time facing UCC. In saying that, we are not writing ourselves off. We’ll leave that to everyone else. It is a big turnaround from previous years. You could argue we already have achieved. In saying that, we won’t be going down apologising for being there. ”

Garvan says an increase in the number of sports related courses offered by IT Carlow has contributed to increased success inside the four white lines – IT Carlow’s hurlers annexed a first Division 1 League crown back in December. “It’s fantastic for the college to be involved this weekend. This is new territory, but it is where we want to be. We have ambitions to be here on an annual basis. We have GAA courses in the college so it wouldn’t be beyond our aspirations to be regular participants at the finals weekend.

“We are establishing ourselves on the GAA map, albeit with small panels. We drove into UL last week for the Sigerson quarter-final and we got lost. We couldn’t find the field. There is no fear of that happening if you drive into IT Carlow. We are competing against colleges with a greater student population than ours. There has been an increase in sports related courses and that helps bringing in more lads who play hurling and football, lads good enough for this level.”