Tomás Clancy determined to join UCC’s history-makers

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

Not since the spring of 1995 have UCC successfully strung back-to-back Sigerson Cup titles, and not since the February of 1967 has a Cork footballer donning the skull and crossbones emblem held aloft the coveted silverware.

The late Denis Philpott, of Lough Rovers fame, stands as the UCC captain in question. Now Clancy is bidding to bridge that 48-year gap.

History aside, the Fermoy half-back, serving as UCC captain in his fifth year as part of Billy Morgan’s set-up, is keen to join the list of 21 men to have steered the Cork university to the summit of third-level football — Paul Geaney, Moss Keane and Paudie Sheehy, just a few of the personalities Clancy is seeking to emulate.

“I’d love to join that list, what an honour it would be,” said Clancy.

“For me, that is huge personal motivation this weekend. Good teams win once, great teams win a competition twice. I don’t know when the last time UCC defended the Sigerson Cup was. It is certainly a while back. You look at the names who have lifted that cup for this college. You want to be part of that list. That can’t but drive you.

“This college carries a great tradition, a great history. We want to add to that tradition and history.”

A PhD student researching Electrochemistry at the Tyndall Institute, Clancy’s days as a Sigerson footballer are numbered. Since joining the panel in September of 2010, he’s known little other than finals weekend where February’s third Friday is concerned.

Having enjoyed success in Belfast and Belfield, endured heartache in Galway and Athlone; nothing would compare to defending their title on home soil.

“Even though I have been on the panel for the past few years, it wasn’t until the 2012/2013 campaign I nailed down a starting berth. Paul Geaney has been involved from 2012 onwards so we’d be the two most experienced men on this team. He captained us last year, this year it fell to me.

“Making the finals weekend is engrained in the mindset of the UCC footballer. Nothing else is acceptable. Winning last year was such an accomplishment, it is something you’ll never forget. The fact we were underdogs made it all the more memorable.

“It is great to have it on our home turf, but there was certainly more pressure in the earlier rounds this year compared to other years. The pressure was to ensure we were present on the final weekend. Now we are there, the pressure is definitely off. We can go out and express ourselves, show what we are about.

“Going away for the finals weekend is usually a terrific bonding experience, but, as a group, we are already fairly tight so it won’t be too much of a problem staying at home.”

On the influence spawned by manager Morgan, he added: “He has this remarkable relationship with the senior and U21 managers in Cork and Kerry. There is no pulling and dragging of players. The likes of Brian Cuthbert and Eamonn Fitzmaurice know how important this competition is and the benefit to their players of pulling on the UCC jersey. They know their players can only come back better from time spent with Billy.

“Even Billy’s relationship with Fitzmaurice saw us play Kerry in a challenge at the time we thought we were getting a straight bye into the semis. That match proved invaluable to us, a great workout.”