UL strive to be more than poor relations

Completing the set is the Sigerson Cup; third-level’s premier football crown, however, has never resided in the trophy cabinet of the Limerick University.

Present holders of the Fitzgibbon Cup: UL.

Present holders of the Ashbourne Cup: UL.

Present holders of the O’Connor Cup: UL.

Indeed, on only one occasion – 1997 – did a football team from Castletroy succeed in navigating their way into the Sigerson Cup decider. A William Kirby inspired Tralee RTC dismissed their challenge with seven points to spare on a cold March Sunday above in Coleraine and, the ensuing 18 years, followed a pretty similar pattern to the two decades which preceded that almost breakthrough; first round defeats, quarter-final defeats, hard luck stories, moral victories and near misses. They achieved everything but silverware.

Ruairí Deane enrolled at UL in September of 2014 to begin a two-year Masters in Physical Education. Little over two months on from tearing his ACL during Cork’s Munster final humiliation at the hands of Kerry, Sigerson Cup football couldn’t have been further from his mind.

He had failed to win a single game during the previous three years spent at IT Tralee and there was nothing to suggest UL would be any different. Football, after all, rarely figured in the conversation around campus. Hurling was top dog, camogie and ladies football following thereafter. Each of these three codes had history and tradition on their side. Football was out in the cold, the poor relation.

Their shock win away to Maynooth in the opening round of last year’s Sigerson Cup went largely unnoticed and hopes of bridging an 18-year gap to the University’s last appearance at the finals weekend were cruelly dashed by IT Carlow in a quarter-final contest that finished 0-11 to 0-10 on UL turf.

Deane involved himself in a non-playing capacity during the campaign and vowed to pull on the burgundy, blue and gold shirt for the 2015/16 season. What he didn’t expect was to be heading to Jordanstown for a Sigerson semi-final, the first UL team since the class of ’97 to do so.

“Back in September, we came together and we said if we wanted to make progression this year it would only come about by making the finals weekend. It was ambitious, but we had to be realistic too,” says the Cork footballer.

“We had made the quarter-finals last year so the goal had to be to go at least a step further. The draw would have been a big element in that, trying to avoid the big four. We got my old college in the first round (IT Tralee) and having got over them we knew Queens wasn’t going to be an easy game.

“We knew they were coming down with a great, great team and we knew what they were going to bring to the table. Inside our camp, however, we had 100% belief we had a great opportunity to get to the weekend. Nothing but the win would have pleased us. It was a breakthrough result for us.”

But despite earning their place alongside the talent-saturated teams of UUJ, UCD and DCU, Deane insists that the footballers still aren’t figuring in the conversation around Castletroy. The Camogie side won the Ashbourne Cup in a seven-goal thriller last Sunday, while the hurlers staved off CIT in the Fitz quarter-final on Wednesday night. Tradition is hard to beat.

“UL is a big college with 14,000 people. Nobody knows Gearóid Hegarty walking around the college, nobody knows Danny Neville. Ian Burke and Niall McDermott, these lads aren’t known on campus.

“You look at the UCD team then and they have Paul Mannion, David Byrne, Jack McCaffrey and John Heslin. These lads are household names and would be more recognisable walking around UL than we would.”

The Bantry native continued: “I could have easily come and went without kicking a ball up here. That is not really what I am about, though. I want to play football for anyone that will have me. It is great to see the progression UL football has made. It rarely features in the GAA discussion up here. Maybe now those opinions and assumptions of UL football have changed, and will continue to change over the next couple of years. We have seen progression last year, we have seen progression this year. We don’t know yet where this journey will end, but hopefully next year they will keep on rising because we are good enough.”

As for today’s clash with tournament favourites UCD?

“A Sigerson weekend was never on the cards below in Tralee. It was more looking to get a win in the first game. I wasn’t sure if it would be on the cards here either. Thankfully, I have the opportunity to be part of the Sigerson weekend with my last chance and hopefully something special will come about.

“We are going up there as complete underdogs, but we are going to give our best.”