THE GAA season moves up another gear this week with the start of the Ulster Bank Higher Education Championships – the top prizes being the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups – and for players like Dublin footballer Diarmuid Connolly it’s the opportunity for some success outside the county, while at the same time laying down a marker for selection within the county.
Right now Connolly looks poised to do both.
Connolly lines out with Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) tomorrow in the Sigerson Cup opening-round tie with University College Cork, and he admits his ambitions are twofold: make a mark for DIT, and use that as a platform for making his mark with Dublin.
“I wasn’t involved myself last year, but DIT were very unlucky, beaten by a last-minute goal, by CIT, who went on to win it,” said Connolly, speaking at yesterday’s competition launch in Croke Park.
“We are missing a good few from last year, I think only four or five are still on the panel. We have drafted in a couple of really good young lads and I’m looking forward to Wednesday’s game. We put in a good performance against Laois in the O’Byrne Cup, and we were very unlucky not to beat them in the end.”
An apprentice electrician, Connolly qualifies for DIT as a part-time student and, at 22, rightfully feels he has yet to reach his full potential with Dublin, even though he was a first-choice forward for last year’s championship: “I’m with the college at the moment full-time really, but hopefully will get back in with Dublin for the league. I haven’t been training with Dublin a whole lot lately obviously with the college competitions.
“But the Sigerson Cup is really the chance to impress, especially for young lads coming up, if they do perform here they can get thrown in to the league with their counties. And that’s what I’m using it as.
“Obviously we want to progress in the Sigerson too and hopefully go all the way but it is a chance for the management to see you playing at a high level and if you are playing well you get a chance to get back in to the squad. I’ve been there for the last two or three years so it is just a matter of consistency and hopefully the management will keep their faith in you or whatever.”
Yet Connolly admits he’s not missing the early-morning training sessions being employed by Dublin manager Pat Gilroy, as he did endure them a couple of years back during St Vincent’s run to the All-Ireland club championship.
“Mickey Whelan brought the early-morning sessions in the year we won the All-Ireland. Of course it brings you on a whole lot. It is nearly professional when you are training twice a day. Lads getting together, the more you get together the better you play as a team, bonding and that.
“And I think Dublin are trying to raise the levels of fitness with this morning training stuff and obviously want to put in a good league campaign because we haven’t over the last couple of years. It is up to the fringe players to come on and push the team on, lads like Eamon Fennell, Ross McConnell and Darren Magee, to step in and fill Ciarán Whelan’s and Shane Ryan’s boots.”
The Sigerson Cup finals will be hosted by NUI Maynooth on February 26th/27th, with the Fitzgibbon Cup hosted by NUI Galway on March 5th/6th.
Meanwhile, beaten All-Ireland hurling finalists Tipperary play their first competitive game of the year this evening in the Waterford Crystal Cup quarter-final at Borrisoleigh, where they take on Clare at 7.30pm.
The Leinster Council have also confirmed the O’Byrne Cup quarter-final replay between Dublin and Meath will take place tomorrow evening at Páirc Tailteann in Navan (7.45pm throw-in).
Sigerson Cup
Tomorrow
First Round (all 2pm): UCC v DIT, Mardyke; UL v IT Carlow, Limerick, St Mary’s Belfast v MICL, St Loman’s, Mullingar.
