Ambitious Cregg begs the All-Ireland question - 'Why not Roscommon?' 

Cregg, speaking at the launch of the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education championships, was happy to stand over his claim that Roscommon have the potential to do it.

Daire Cregg of UCD poses for a portrait with the Sigerson Cup before the draw for the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Roscommon for Sam?

You'll get attractive 50/1 odds on that, the sort of price that suggests that if you put a euro on then you'll get precisely zero back.

A chat with Daire Cregg, Roscommon's ultra-talented and ambitious young forward might just convince you that it's worth a punt though.

Scouts from AFL outfit Carlton watched him a couple of times last year, perhaps bowled over by his brilliance in the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup final for UCD.

After watching him play again for Roscommon against Mayo in the Connacht SFC semi-final, they extended their hand for a meet and greet in Dublin.

The long and the short of that one was that Carlton wanted to sell something which Cregg wasn't interested in buying so he knocked them back, partly because of his All-Ireland dream.

"They wanted confirmation and I wasn't really willing to give confirmation I wanted to go because I was fully wrapped up in winning an All-Ireland," said Cregg.

Roscommon went on to reach a quarter-final in 2024, beating Tyrone along the way.

"Tyrone, we beat them last year and they are being talked up as big chances for an All-Ireland," argued Cregg. "So why can't we be put in the same bracket?"

Most players at this stage of the year will distance themselves from any such talk.

But Cregg, speaking at the launch of the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education championships, was happy to stand over his claim that they have the potential to do it.

"Yeah, we have strong belief this year, we're in year three with Davy Burke and we have a lot of young lads blooded, I'd say probably seven or eight lads, maybe nine or 10 even, that would have been on the U-20 team that lost the (2020) All-Ireland final," he said.

"We have a wealth of experience too with a lot of lads who would have been involved in All-Ireland U-21 finals against Dublin in 2012 and 2014. I think there are 10 or 15 lads from those teams, a few more then from in between teams, and maybe nine or 10 fellas of 22 or 23 who have played a lot of games in the last few years.

"So I think we have a lovely balance and listen, every team thinks they can win the All-Ireland. Every team in that top 15 or 16 thinks they can win an All-Ireland but yeah, we definitely believe it.

"Obviously the new rules have opened it up for everyone too."

Roscommon's attack has been strengthened by the return of Ciarain Murtagh and Cian McKeon after a year out. Murtagh and Cregg both played for Connacht in the Interprovincial tournament at Croke Park last October.

The emergence of Cregg himself as a top inter-county forward, as he demonstrated throughout 2024, has energised Roscommon supporters.

Now 22, and completing a Masters Degree in Project Management, surely there'll be no more AFL talk?

"I have not fully shut the door on it but I just knew it is not something that I wanted to do immediately," he said. "We have a really strong team with Roscommon this year and, as I have said a few times, an excellent management team and we have a really good chance of winning an All-Ireland and that is the only thing that I am really too worried about. Listen, we will see whatever happens down the line."

Cregg and UCD will belatedly begin their Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup campaign tomorrow against UCC. That game was supposed to be played on Tuesday afternoon in Cork but was called off.

"It was very disappointing, we drove three hours on a bus and we were in Fermoy in Cork having dinner when we were told it was called off," said Cregg. "We travelled three quarters of the country. The night before we met in UCD and then drove down that morning so we were sitting below in Cork when it was called off."