It’s just not meant to be for Corofin’s Kieran Molloy.
In his first year playing in the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup for NUIG, a Garda escort was required to take him from the All-Ireland club semi-final in Tullamore, to Santry Avenue for the College’s final against UCD.
Just so he could come on as a second half sub. That was a farce, but at least it was a once-off – or so we thought.
12 months on and NUIG were back in the mix again, so too were Corofin and for the second year in a row, Molloy was being dragged in all directions in February. Initially, Corofin’s All-Ireland club semi-final against Gaoth Dobhair was penned in on the same day as his college’s Sigerson semi against UCC, almost half the country away, until the college game was moved back 24 hours.
Still, it’s hardly ideal playing two All-Ireland semi finals in the space of one weekend.
24 months on, and Kieran Molloy must be glad he’s nearly finished in college, as perhaps unwisely, both the club and college championships were moved back to take place in January 2020.
For the third year in a row, the flying half back could be set for another big clash.
With the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup beginning this weekend and scheduled to finish on Wednesday January 29, Molloy could, subject to NUIG’s progression in the competition, play five crucial games in the space of just 18 days. He could play four Sigerson Cup games in that period (Round One, quarter final, semi-final and final) with an All-Ireland club final in the middle of it all, fixed for January 19.
Indeed, if NUIG beat UCC in the first round of the Sigerson Cup this Sunday, Molloy will have both a Sigerson quarter final and an All-Ireland club final on January 19, as it stands.
Jerome Quinn caught up with the man himself at the launch of the college competitions in DCU recently and he bemoaned the scheduling of it all.
“It’s crazy, if we win on the 12th (Vs UCC), the quarter finals are on the 19th – there’s a clash there again, it’s all up in the air again,” he said.
He’s been very hard done by here.
President of the GAA John Horan said that “there’s nothing easy, and we have to do our best to work around them,” to Quinn in response, but maybe it would have been made a bit easier if all these unnecessary pre-season competitions were slashed from the calendar, to give some wiggle-room for what’s important.
The first round of the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon kicks off this weekend, and the fixtures are below.
Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup Round One
Saturday, January 11
Queens University v TU Dublin City Campus
Sunday January 12
Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup Round One
Maynooth University v St Mary’s, Maynooth University North Campus, 2pm
Athlone IT v Letterkenny IT, Athlone IT, 2pm
IT Sligo v UL, IT Sligo, 2pm
IT Tralee v IT Carlow, IT Tralee, 2pm
UCD v Ulster University, Belfield, 2.15pm
DCU Dochas Eireann v Garda College, DCU, 3pm
NUIG v UCC, Dangan, 4pm
Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup
Sunday January 12
UCD v IT Carlow, Belfield, 12.30, Group D
DCU Dochas Eireann v UL, DCU Sportsgrounds, 1.00, Group A
Trinity College v Maynooth University, Santry Avenue, 2.00, Group A
TU Dublin City Campus v Mary I, Grangegorman, 2.00, Group B
Limerick IT v Waterford IT, LIT, 2.00, Group B
NUIG v UCC, Dangan, 2.00, Group C
