THE FIRST TWO semi-final places are up for grabs in this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup today.

At 2pm at the Parnells GAA Club in Coolock in Dublin, Group D winners Dublin IT face Group A runners-up Mary Immaculate College.

While at 3pm in the Mardyke in Cork, reigning champions and Group A winners UCC square off against Group B runners-up Cork IT.

• UCC are the only one of the four teams in action today to have won the competition with 40 titles to their name. Cork IT have lost two finals, in 2003 against Waterford IT and last year against UCC.
• Dublin IT and Mary Immaculate College have never featured in the final of the Fitzgibbon Cup.
• Dublin IT duo Liam Rushe and Niall Quinn have competed in the Fitzgibbon Cup previously for UCD and Limerick IT respectively.
• Dublin senior David Treacy’s 1-3 haul was pivotal to their key group stage victory over UL by 1-15 to 0-15 and he struck 0-8 in their 1-16 to 1-12 win against St Pat’s last week.
• Mary Immaculate College are more accustomed to plying their trade in the second tier of colleges hurling. They won the Ryan Cup in 2009 and 2012, both years that UCC won the Fitzgibbon Cup.
• The Limerick-based college do not lack experience though. Cork’s Luke O’Farrell featured in the 2011 Fitzgibbon semi-final for UCC while Clare’s John Conlon struck the match-winning point for NUI Galway in their 2010 final win after extra-time against Waterford IT.

John Conlon in action for NUI Galway. Pic: Inpho/James Crombie.

• Limerick’s Declan Hannon and Waterford’s Brian O’Halloran are other players in the Mary Immaculate line-up who have inter-county senior championship experience while Colm Galvin won an All-Ireland U21 medal with Clare last year.
• Mary Immaculate College manager Eamonn Cregan is an All-Ireland winner as a player (Limerick in 1973) and as a manager (Offaly in 1994).
• Mary Immaculate College drew 0-18 apiece with NUI Galway and 1-13 apiece with UCC before beating GMIT by 2-14 to 1-8.
• UCC manager Eddie Enright is also an All-Ireland winner with Tipperary in 2001.
• Both UCC and CIT have Clare All-Ireland U21 winners in their ranks with Killian Ryan part of the UCC defence and Patrick O’Connor part of the CIT rearguard.
• UCC defeated GMIT by 0-18 to 0-14 and NUI Galway by 1-13 to 0-14 to reach this juncture while they drew 1-13 apiece with Mary Immaculate College.
• Cork IT beat Carlow IT by 4-15 to 1-10 while they lost out to Waterford IT by 3-15 to 2-8 in the group stages.
• There are 16 players still available to both UCC and Cork IT, who played some part in last year’s Fitzgibbon Cup final.

Fitzgibbon Cup quarter-finals
Today
Dublin IT v Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Parnell’s GAA Club, Coolock, 2pm, (Ref: Owen Elliott, Antrim)
UCC v Cork IT, Mardyke, 3pm, (Ref: Johnny Ryan, Tipperary)

GAA fixtures for the week ahead