Sigerson success vital to developing new wave of Cork footballers

AS Cork football transitions from a disappointing era at senior to a new phase under John Cleary, on the back of minor and U20 All-Ireland titles in 2019, UCC and the Sigerson Cup can be an important bridge between generations.

The College lifted their 24th title on Wednesday evening by seeing off UL 1-16 to 0-16 after extra-time at the SETU Arena in Waterford and a number of graduates from the Rebels underage academy were present.

Brian Hartnett, Mark Cronin, Maurice Shanley, and Cathail O’Mahony all started in the Sigerson decider and lined out for Cork in the 2019 U20 final. Fionn Herlihy and captain Jack Murphy came off the bench in Portlaoise four years ago and were key figures for the Skull and Crossbones too.

Dan Peet, a minor All-Ireland champion, came on and replaced Damien Bourke and he helped the team establish a three-point cushion in the first period of extra-time.

That core is already breaking into Cork’s senior team as they made a number of appearances during the 2023 McGrath. Shane Merritt, Herlihy, and Daniel O’Mahony also featured in both campaigns and they now have two medals to show for it.

This continues a long trend of emerging Cork stars breaking out of minor and U21 teams, winning a Sigerson Cup, and then establishing themselves with the senior team. UCC manager Billy Morgan, who has worked for years with the county team and college, has been steadfast in this process since he took over the university in 2009.

BREAKTHROUGH

Morgan has guided UCC to four Sigerson Cups, with the first ending a 16-year famine back in 2011. Mark Collins and Kevin O'Driscoll featured in that campaign and they went straight into their first season with the Cork senior footballers.

Their next victory saw the emergence of Brian O’Driscoll, Ian Maguire, and Tom Clancy; who are now regulars for John Cleary’s Cork team.

The College has taken on the role of developing elite-level footballers outside the traditional inter-county window, a gap that the Corn Uí Mhuirí would have filled when the players were in secondary school.

Kerry know this all too well, as players like Dara Moynihan and Tom O’Sullivan used provincial and national success to gain experience of winning trophies in an elite high-pressure environment. Luke Connolly has experienced a similar journey, as he won the Munster championship with Coláiste Chríost Rí in 2011 and he picked up a Sigerson Cup medal while breaking into the Cork Senior Football team.

Dublin benefited massively from college success in the Sigerson Cup with players like Dean Rock and James McCarthy winning the competition before going on to claim untold honours with the county senior football team.

Those kinds of rewards are the priorities for this generation of Cork stars, who returned to league action for Dublin’s first visit to Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 11 years last weekend.