On Wednesday 11 February, University of Limerick joined the illustrious list of universities to win the Electric Ireland Higher Education Sigerson Cup, GAA’s premier inter-varsity competition. Spurred on by heroics from goalkeeper Tristan O’Callaghan, UL won out by three points in the final against University College Cork.
Throw in at an echoey, breezy Croke Park was at 7.35, where David Power’s UL side took on the timeless Billy Morgan and UCC. The game started in electric fashion, with UL’s Ciaran Collins and Sean Morahan opening the scoring inside the first minute. UCC fired back through Cormac Dillon and a solo effort from Ruairi Murphy to level the game with five played.
The end-to-end encounter was reflective of both team’s thrilling routes to the final. UCC got the better of University of Galway at the Mardyke, while in the other semi-final, UL pulled off a thrilling last-ditch victory over Queen’s University Belfast, Cathal Brosnan’s goal guiding them to the final. The multiregional makeup of the UL squad – including 10 players from Mayo, 7 from Tipperary and 1 for each of Roscommon, Sligo and Galway – was contrasted by UCC’s panel consisting almost entirely of Cork and Kerry representatives. But the contrast equated to a close encounter.
UL pushed on through Ciaran Collins as the game settled into a rhythm, before Mayo’s Cian McHale thumped a near-two-pointer to put the Limerick outfit 5 points to 3 in front. UCC’s best player against University of Galway, Clonakilty’s Conor Daly, got on the scoresheet to bring the gap back to two.
Both teams wasted chances, but the Mayo contingent in the UL forward line, McHale, Conal Dawson and Frank Irwin, were moving well and UL extended the lead to 8-4 with twenty minutes played. UL goalkeeper Tristan O’Callaghan showed early signs of his big second half to come, keeping out Ciaran Santry. Both sides kicked on, and a Conor Daly free after 28 minutes kept his side three points back.
The final act of the half was when UCC’s number 15, Ciaran Santry, got on the end of a superb pass in and managed to fist the ball past O’Callaghan for the game’s only goal, levelling the teams and leaving us poised for a tantalising second half.
As the second half began, UL had clearly had their oranges and kicked several scores through McHale and Cathal Brosnan, leaving them three points in front with twenty minutes to play. Nevertheless, both goalkeepers continued to prove their metal, as Tristan O’Callaghan denied Conor Daly the chance to fire home and UCC captain Austin Murphy stopped a shot from UL number 15 Frank Irwin. In a performance sure to get him on Andy Moran’s Mayo radar, Cian McHale added another as the teams introduced substitutes.
UL’s Cathal Ryan embarked on a solo run for a great score after 52 minutes, before UCC midfielder Tom Cunningham missed a sitter to keep the gap at 3. With less than 5 minutes to play, Daithí Hogan’s score put UL 4 up and in the driving seat.
Yet the twists kept on coming, as O’Callaghan made yet another ridiculous save on the 60-minute mark. Dillon’s free wasn’t enough and UCC entered stoppage team 3 points behind still. UL brought on defensive substitutions including Roscommon’s Cillian Campbell to see out a historic first Sigerson title. It finished UL 0-17 – 1-11 UCC, a 3-point win on the biggest stage. UL captain Brian McNamara and his Clare compatriot and hero goalie O’Callaghan lifted the Sigerson Cup on the steps of the Hogan Stand.
UL joins the list of 13 universities to win the Sigerson Cup. And after also being victorious in the hurling equivalent Fitzgibbon Cup, in a much more resounding victory over Mary Immaculate College on Friday 13 February, they join a more illustrious list: becoming only the third university to win the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon double in the same year, emulating UCD in 1977 and UCC in 1988 and 2019. The sky is clearly the limit for these UL teams and the future of the GAA in the university.
As for our own University of Galway, an early wobble was overshadowed by a good run in the competition, losing out to UCC in the semi-final. UG’s Eoin Colleran finished up as the top scorer from play in the competition. No doubt Maurice Sheridan’s men from the Corrib will look to build on their performances and challenge UL in 2027.
Sonny McGreevy is SIN’s co-Sports Editor for 2025/2026. He is a third-year student of Creative Writing and a keen but mediocre golfer. It is his second-year writing for SIN. When he’s not slicing a golf ball into the nearest pond or peering over a fence at a local GAA pitch, he’s debating Irish foreign policy or ardently discussing the price of turf with a pint in hand in a sleepy pub in his native Roscommon.