UCC boss Paul O'Keeffe: This panel is one of the strongest that we have ever had

UCC manager Paul O’Keeffe is looking forward to a breather following his side’s eye-catching Sigerson Cup victory over Queen’s University Belfast played in difficult weather conditions in Abbotstown on Wednesday night.

As a result of this Round 2A success, UCC bypass the Round 3 section and move on to the quarter-final juncture.

The Cork side would have been underdogs coming into the game but won on a scoreline of 1-19 to 2-14.

They dug deep and kicked the last three scores including a two-pointer.

“It’s relief more than anything else, a real gritty performance,” O’Keeffe said post-match.

“I suppose there was a period there in the last quarter where we left Queen’s back into the game. We just had to dig it out in the end.

“When you look across the team, I'm just really happy with the performance. There were a lot of strong individual performances. The depth of the panel also showed in terms of what we were able to bring on.

“Overall, we are really happy with the display. It was a real Sigerson Cup match.” 

UCC got off to a winning start the first day out against ATU Sligo, 3-18 to 0-15, but Queen’s also had a great victory after a 1-14 to 0-11 success over University of Galway.

It was expected to be a bridge too far though for O’Keeffe’s charges in Dublin.

“We have a very strong panel this year and I am not just saying that,” the St Finbarr’s clubman says.

“I have been involved with UCC for a long time and this panel is probably one of the strongest that we have ever had. When we were picking the panel of 35 players, there were another seven or eight guys who were probably hard done by.

“When you look at our bench tonight, there were a lot of really talented footballers that didn’t even get a run. We are trying to keep everyone happy, but winning keeps people happy anyway.

“Just really impressed with the lads tonight and ever since we returned to training at the start of the season.” 

UCC, with 24 Sigerson Cup titles to their name, lost both of their championship games in 2025 as they made a swift exit. It has been a brilliant turnaround. 

“Sigerson can change very quickly, sometimes it’s just a bounce of a ball. If it went the other way tonight, we could have been out of the competition next week and you could say we had a bad year.

“Sigerson is very fickle. You win narrowly tonight and you could lose narrowly the next day. We are delighted that we have put last year behind us and have won two on the bounce, but it’s only going to get tougher from here on in.” 

It’s a relentless schedule at the moment so having two weeks to prepare for a home quarter-final is ideal for UCC given many of their players are involved with inter-county teams.

“I am delighted with the win tonight because it gives everyone a breather and we can go away and get our structures right and be fresh for two weeks.” O'Keeffe ended.