2014 Press Releases
Kerry footballers hone their skills at UCC!
This Sunday (21 Sept) Kerry play Donegal in the All-Ireland Senior Football Final and once again there is a large representation of UCC students and alumni on the Kerry team.
In the recent past the University has played in four Sigerson Cup finals (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014). The UCC team won two (‘11,’14) and also won the 2011 Cork County Senior Football Final though the team was beaten in the 2011 Munster Club Final. Nine of the Kerry panel were part of this successful period in the Gaelic Football club’s history.
They were alumni Peter Crowley (Laune Rangers), Johnny Buckley and Dáithí Casey (Dr Crokes), Paul Murphy (Rathmore), Shane Enright (Tarbert), Stephen O’Brien (Kenmare), Donnacha Walsh (Cromane) and students Paul Geaney (Dingle) , Brian Kelly (Killarney Legion) and Fergal McNamara (Austin Stacks).Paul Geaney, Brian Kelly and Fergal McNamara were on the UCC team that won the Sigerson Cup last March with Geaney acting as captain.
The coach of the Kerry team is Eamonn Fitzmaurice (Finuge/Lixnaw) who has strong UCC credentials in that he won both a Cork County and Munster Club championship with the University in 1999.
UCC has won the Sigerson Cup 21 times and Kerry has supplied 11 of those winning captains, amongst them Michael Charles Troy in 1916, Moss Keane (1970) and Adrian Greaney in the 2011 Centenary Year victory.
UCC GAA Development Officer, John Grainger, has yet to find a connection with the Donegal lads but he's still looking!