UL PLAYERS KEVIN O’Brien and Stephen Bennett were able to celebrate victory in today’s Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final and get set for tomorrow’s decider.
And the duo are also able to enjoy success in the sibling stakes after the game against Limerick IT.
Limerick’s O’Brien and Waterford’s Bennett were part of the UL setup while Kevin’s brother Seanie and Stephen’s brother Kieran both played for LIT.
Kevin and Seanie both started the game at corner-forward and midfield respectively. When UL were reduced to 14 men during the second-half, Kevin played in a deeper role and came up against his brother in the battle for possession in the middle third. The scoring stakes between the Patrickswell pair were won by Kevin as he notched 0-2 while Seanie struck 0-1.
For the Bennett’s of Ballysaggart, there was more of a direct confrontation. Stephen came on as a second-half substitute in the full-forward line for UL and went in to mark his brother Kieran in the full-back line for LIT. But moments later LIT switched Kieran and it was Niall O’Connor who marked Stephen for the remainder of the game.
Stephen, a 2013 All-Ireland minor winner with Waterford, banged home the late goal that sealed UL’s 2-18 to 1-14 success.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen brothers in opposition in third-level GAA with Mayo’s Diarmuid O’Connor coming out on top against his older brother and 2014 Allstar winner Cillian when DCU defeated Jordanstown in the Sigerson Cup earlier this month.
Last year in club action, ex-Kilkenny player Brian Hogan went up against his brother Keith in a county senior hurling quarter-final.
While in 2013, the O’Reilly brothers were in opposition in the Mayo county senior football decider.
