The Sigerson at Queens

"St Marys Graduate with Honours" was the headline in the Irish News on March 6, 1989, with my byline and a sub-heading which read - Historic achievement by Belfast trainee teachers. It is hard to believe that was 25 years ago and my first Sigerson Cup experience, yet the memories are still fresh. 

I remember the Downey brothers, Seamus and Henry, marking one another in the first Semi-final, between St Marys and Queens. It was a tight, low-scoring affair with so much at stake, but the second Semi-final was a classic. Everyone headed up to the top pitch to see a battle between UCC and Trinity which ended in twilight after extra-time. Kerry legend Maurice Fitzgerald kicked points from either sideline off either boot and some new young pup called Joe Brolly banged in a few goals for TCD. 

Then on the Sunday, an early collision right in front of me saw Maurice Fitzgerald needing long treatment. Apparently he does not remember the rest of the game which was surprisingly one-sided with the fresher St Marys team running away with it. Several of their starting fifteen went on to win All Irelands in the early nineties with Derry and Down, while John Rafferty and Benny Tierney won Sam with Armagh in 2002. 

I come across Rafferty and Cathal Murray regularly these days through Ulster Colleges where they have made immense contributions to Gaelic Football. You can add others like Danny Quinn, Pascal Canavan and of course Jarlath Burns to the equation. In short, they were a fantastic group of footballers and men, worthy of winning St Marys only ever Sigerson. In addition, their management team was exceptional for the time, with a mixture of athletics and Gaelic Football in the backgrounds of Peter Finn and Jim McKeever. 

My next Sigerson at Queens was in 2007 when the hosts and UUJ were both involved in games on the Friday on adjoining pitches. I headed up, per usual, with a camera crew to film the games and the occasion, but on my return to the BBC sports office I was instructed by the new-ish Head of Sport Shane Glynn that none of the footage was to be shown on the evening news. 

"It is third level and we do not do the other third level competitions, like soccer or rugby", he explained. "And how would I explain to Irish League fans that a colleges game was on the TV on a Friday evening when their teams would be playing the following day and theirs is senior sport?"

He said he got letters from Irish League fans and was concerned about how he would answer them. I had a few suggestions. I also offered to get him letters, if that is what he wanted and went by. "Oh but I was at Queens and I knew boys in the Sigerson so I know what it is all about". No mate, you clearly do not! 

With full respect to soccer and rugby, their competitions are totally different in make-up, quality and ethos. You will see All Ireland winning captain Michael Murphy or Jamie Clarke or All Star Colin Walshe giving their all in the Sigerson but you will not see elite players from soccer or rugby doing the same. 

To me, Glynn was just making excuses not to give the Sigerson the coverage it deserved. Of course, a camera was sent to every Irish League game the following day and they were given plenty of airtime on radio and television, which remains the case today. Furthermore, there is now a weekly dedicated Irish League online programme. A similar effort could be made for GAA in general and the Sigerson in particular this week, or surely on the historic Queens GAA Festival, if the will was there.

The Sigerson will demonstrate once again that it is a special and much-loved competition in the wider GAA calendar. It is a coming together of many of our top-class young footballers (Paddy McBrearty, Jamie Clarke, Ciaran Kilkenny in the Trench Cup, etc) and legendary coaches such as Adrian McGuckin and Billy Morgan. Fellow students, family members and friends, and genuine Gaelic Football fans will flock to the Dub or they will get up early in Canada, Australia or wherever they are to follow the progress of the games.

It is deserving of proper media recognition locally and nationally, but whether it gets it or not, I am glad and proud to say that on a personal level, my Sigerson weekend will replicate my first experience, at Queens back in 1989. I will be on camera at as many games as I can get to and I will be posting videos online for Higher Education GAA. See you there or follow me on Twitter @JeromeQuinn