THE REIGNING CHAMPIONS UCC are bidding for their 41st title.
UCD have 30 titles to their name but last lifted silverware in 2001.
Waterford IT are eight-time winners of this competition with their most recent success arriving in 2008.
While for Mary Immaculate College Limerick, this is their first ever appearance at the semi-final stage of this third-level competition.
GMIT is the host college for the finals weekend of the 2013 Fitzgibbon Cup with Carnmore GAA club hosting the action tomorrow as the semi-final showdowns take place.
Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final
When? Tomorrow, 12.45pm
Where? Carnmore GAA club
Who’s playing? Waterford IT v Mary Immaculate College Limerick
Who’s the ref? James McGrath (Westmeath)
What are the bookies saying? Waterford IT 4/5, Mary Immaculate College 5/4, Draw 8/1.
Paths to semi final
Waterford IT 1-11 Carlow IT 1-6; Waterford IT 3-15 Cork IT 2-8; Waterford IT 0-21 Limerick IT 1-14.
Mary Immaculate College 0-18 NUI Galway 0-18; Mary Immaculate College 1-13 UCC 1-13; Mary Immaculate College 2-14 GMIT 1-8; Mary Immaculate College 1-18 Dublin IT 0-15
Declan Hannon of Mary Immaculate celebrates after their quarter-final win.
Pic: INPHO/Cathal Noonan
FIVE THINGS TO NOTE
- Waterford IT’s backroom team have a fine Fitzgibbon Cup record. GAA Officer Conor Phelan won three Fitzgibbon medals during his playing days with the college in 2003, 2004 and 2006. While manager Colm Bonnar captained WIT when they won the Fitzgibbon Cup in 1995 and has also coached five WIT teams to glory.
- There is a strong Déise influence in the Waterford IT line-up. Stephen O’Keeffe, Liam Lawlor, Noel Connors, Martin O’Neill, Jake Dillon, Gavin O’Brien and Pauric Mahony are all currently members of the county’s senior panel. They’ll be in opposition today to county teammate Brian O’Halloran.
- Former Offaly and Limerick boss Eamonn Cregan is in charge of Mary Immaculate College. He has a long-standing link to teams with the Limerick-based outfit, first taking the reins in 1992. In recent years he has guided them to win the Ryan Cup, the second tier third-level competition, in 2009 and 2012.
- Cregan has had assistance from Limerick’s Gavin O’Mahony and Tipperary’s Timmy Hammersley this year in the coaching department. O’Mahony has previous Fitzgibbon experience with LIT while Hammersley is a former WIT player. In 2010 he hit 3-57 in six games as WIT suffered an extra-time final defeat to NUI Galway.
- Mary Immaculate College player John Conlon has fond memories of that particular final three years ago. It was his extra-time point that proved the winner for NUI Galway in their 1-17 to 1-16 success in Pearse Stadium.
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Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final
When? Tomorrow, 2.30pm
Where? Carnmore GAA club
Who’s playing? UCC v UCD
Who’s the ref? Alan Kelly (Galway)
What are the bookies saying? UCD 4/7, UCC 13/8, Draw 8/1.
Paths to semi final
UCC 0-18 GMIT 0-14; UCC 1-13 Mary Immaculate College 1-13; UCC 1-13 NUI Galway 0-14; UCC 1-13 Cork IT 1-11.
UCD 2-13 LIT 0-11; UCD 1-16 DCU 1-10; UCD 1-16 UL 0-17.
UCD’s Noel McGrath celebrates scoring a late point against UL.
Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
FIVE THINGS TO NOTE
- UCD coach Nicky English will be highly familiar with today’s opponents. He won five Fitzgibbon Cup medals between 1981 and 1985 with UCC with one of his teammates being current UCC GAA officer John Grainger. Both English and Grainger were honoured last March on the Fitzgibbon Cup Team of the Century. In addition current UCC manager Eddie Enright, who won three Fitzgibbon medals as a player with UCC, was midfield on the 2001 Tipperary All-Ireland winning side that was managed by English.
- Last year UCC defeated UCD at the quarter-final stage in the Mardyke by 1-22 to 2-13 with Tipperary’s Shane Bourke striking 1-6 for the winners while Walter Walsh and Liam Rushe raised the green flags for UCD. Bourke and Rushe are both no longer involved while Walsh is injured.
Survivors from the UCC side that started that day are Darren McCarthy, Stephen Maher, Killian Murphy, James Barry, Darragh Fives, William Egan, Brian Murray, Seamus Harnedy, Dan McCormack and Willie Griffin. Brian Hartnett and Brian O’Sullivan were introduced as substitutes during that game.
From the UCD side experience is provided by Oisin Gough, Shane Norton, James Gannon. Noel McGrath, Domhnall Fox and Garreth Sinnott while Cathal Kenny came on as a substitute during that match. - UCD have had to cope without the injured Kilkenny trio of John Tennyson, Walter Walsh and Cillian Buckley on route to stage. Noel McGrath’s total of 0-26 from three games to date has helped them cope with those absences.
- Dublin footballer Rory O’Carroll is a notable figure in the UCD side and has shone with his performances in recent Fitzgibbon Cup clashes. Tipperary’s Paddy Murphy is bidding for his second Fitzgibbon Cup medal after previously winning with UL in 2011.
- Stat fans will have noticed that UCD have struck a total of 19 points (2-13 in one game and 1-16 in their two others) to date this year while UCC have hit the 16 points total (striking 1-13) in three of their four games to date. Easy to predict the final score then.
