Sigerson Cup: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Gaelic Athletic Association cups]] |
[[Category:Gaelic Athletic Association cups]] |
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[[Category:Sport at Irish universities]] |
[[Category:Sport at Irish universities]] |
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===External Links=== |
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*[http://www.newberry.org/collections/FindingAids/sigerson/Sigerson.html George Sigerson Papers online inventory, Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois] |
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Revision as of 15:43, 31 July 2009
| Sigerson Cup | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1911 |
| Trophy | Sigerson Cup |
| Title holders | Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) (5th title) |
| First winner | University College Dublin |
| Most titles | University College Dublin (32 titles) |
The Sigerson Cup is the top division of Higher Education (universities, colleges, techincal colleges and institutes of technology) Gaelic football in Ireland, It is administrated by the Higher Education committee which is part of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The HE committee also oversees the Trench Cup (effectively Division 2) and the Fitzgibbon Cup (the hurling equivalent of the Sigerson Cup).
History
There was no intervarsity GAA competition,[1] until Dr. Sigerson (born in Strabane, County Tyrone, in 1839, - a University College Dublin, poet, and leading light in the Celtic Renaissance in Ireland)[1] offered up a trophy in 1911.[1] Dr. Sigerson donated the salary from his post at UCD so that a trophy could be purchased for the competition. In 2009 Sigerson was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People In GAA History.[1] The cup was first presented in 1911, with the inaugural winners being UCD. The trophy itself, is thought to be the longest-serving trophy in the GAA.[1]
Dr. Sigerson's old Alma Mater, UCD dominated the competition from the off, and they lead the way with 32 titles, their greatest era being in the 1970s when they won the title six times in seven years. These Sigerson Cup wins proved to be the launch pad for success further afield, as UCD went on to add two All-Ireland Club Championship wins to their haul. In the early days of the tournament, only UCD, UCC and UCG took part. The competition has been run off every year since, with the exceptions of 1920, 1942 and 1967. UCG are second in the pecking order in terms of championships won, currently having 21 victories to their credit. UCG actually outdid UCD in that they hold the record for the longest winning sequence. After their victory in 1936, the Galway University went on to claim the next five titles as well, and their six in a row is a record that will do well to be equalled.
As the years passed, the domination of the original big three was challenged by a number of new participants. Queens University, Belfast, entered the competition for the first time in 1923, but did not enter thereafter until 1933. They have participated in the competition every year since, however, and won their first title in 1958. Queens have eight titles to their name, winning their eighth tile in 2007 defeating UUJ 0-15 to 0-14 in the final.
As society in general changed with time, and more and more people began to enter third-level education, the number of colleges and universities grew rapidly. The impact of these changes on the Sigerson Cup has been immeasurable. Trinity College Dublin first entered in 1963, followed by NUIM in 1972, University of Ulster, Coleraine in 1976, and University of Ulster, Jordanstown in 1985. The next colleges to enter were Thormond, NIHE Limerick and St. Mary's, Belfast, all in 1988. Further expansion, and the admittance of Regional Technical Colleges to the competition, saw DCU enter in 1990, the RTCs from Athlone in 1991, Sligo in 1992, CIT in 1995 and Tralee in 1996. All of those colleges have claimed Sigerson Cup titles since the mid-nineties, with Athlone IT, Carlow IT and Dundalk IT the only Institute's of Technology yet to win the Ulster Bank Sigerson Cup.
Tralee's entry to the competition proved especially fruitful when they won successive titles in 1997, 1998 and '99. The stranglehold of the larger Universities, UCD, UCG and UCC, has now been broken. The colleges in the North have gained a new confidence in the competition, and with a whole raft of new participants joining in recent years, the trophy is now harder won than ever.
Ulster Bank are the current Sigerson Cup sponsors and follow on from Datapac and Bus Éireann as investing in Ireland's premier Higher Education sports competitions, including the Ulster Bank Fitzgibbon Cup.
Winners
| Team | County | Wins | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|
| University College Dublin (UCD) | Dublin | 32 | 1996 |
| National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG, formerly UCG) | Galway | 22 | 2003 |
| University College Cork (UCC) | Cork | 19 | 1995 |
| Queens University Belfast (QUB) | Antrim | 8 | 2007 |
| University of Ulster, Jordanstown (UUJ) | Antrim | 5 | 2008 |
| Institute of Technology, Sligo | Sligo | 3 | 2005 |
| Institute of Technology, Tralee | Kerry | 3 | 1999 |
| Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) | Cork | 1 | 2009 |
| Dublin City University (DCU) | Dublin | 1 | 2006 |
| St. Mary's University College (Belfast) | Antrim | 1 | 1989 |
| National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) | Kildare | 1 | 1976 |
Other teams with no titles so far:
- Athlone IT
- Templemore Garda College
- Dundalk IT
- Dublin IT
- Waterford IT
- University of Limerick
- IT Tallaght
Winning Captains since 1978
Roll of Honour
Bold text indicates first win.
See also
- Fitzgibbon Cup
- British University Gaelic football Championship
- British University Hurling Championship
References
- ^ a b c d e McEvoy, Enda (4 January 2009). "125 Most Influential People In GAA History". Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
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