TEN YEARS AFTER a fixture was launched to honour one of Cork hurling’s most famous figures, there will be a Tipperary tribute to the 2023 event.
The Cork senior hurlers play UCC tomorrow night in the annual Canon O’Brien Cup game, with a percentage of the gate receipts going to the Dillon Quirke Foundation.
After the tragic passing of the Tipperary senior hurler last August, while playing for his club Clonoulty-Rossmore, the foundation was set up to honour the memory of Quirke.
“Dillon’s passing was such a shock and tragedy,” says UCC manager Tom Kingston.
“UCC always every year donate proceeds from this game to some charity. Dillon’s Foundation was the standout one for this year and an obvious choice. It’s something small for his family and his father Dan, who I know.
“We will talk about Dillon in our team meeting before tomorrow’s game. A lot of our lads would have played against him last year with Cork, he was a player and a person they were very familiar with.”
The other hurling figure that the game will honour is Canon Michael O’Brien, the legendary coach who made a lasting impression on Leeside.
“It’s a very important thing for us to honour the Canon, what he achieved both with UCC and Cork. His standing in hurling is huge. He won eight Fitzgibbon Cups in a row, an incredible record, which I don’t think we’ll see again. Then he won All-Irelands at different levels with Cork in coaching as well.
“He coached me in school in Farranferris, with our club Traction and coached us with Cork at different levels.”
The finest of UCC and Cork will honour the Canon in the Mardyke on Tuesday 10th @ 7pm @uccsport @ucc @corkgaa pic.twitter.com/vEMYNZgK89
— UCC GAA (@ucc_gaa) January 9, 2023
This fixture first took place in January 2013 with only two years, 2018 (weather conditions) and 2021 (Covid-19), seeing the game not played.
UCC play Maynooth University next week in their opening Fitzgibbon Cup clash of 2023, while Pat Ryan’s Cork senior hurling setup are gearing up for the commencement of the hurling league later this month.
“It’s a lasting fixture to honour him, it was important to us that the game would continue,” says Kingston.
“We look forward to this game every year. That was crucially important to us that it would keep going. Dr. Paddy Crowley and John Grainger were instrumental in putting that together, it was their brainchild. We were very conscious it would not be a one or two year gig. In fairness to the Cork county board they have always fulfilled the fixture, we’re very grateful to them this year and all the previous years for that.”
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- Tuesday 10 January: UCC v Cork, Mardyke, 7pm – Admission €5 with part of the proceeds going to the Dillon Quirke Foundation
