Fitzgibbon Cup goes to Limerick

by Michael Ellard

THE Fitzgibbon Cup, showpiece of the Higher Education hurling season, will be staged for the first time this year at the Mary Immaculate College of Education complex in Limerick and the competition will also feature the inaugural appearance of the host college at the games.
Sponsored by Bus Eireann the semi-finals of the competition will take place on February 28 with the final scheduled for the following day.
In the preliminary round, programmed for Wednesday January 31, UCC, the holders of the famous cup, will meet Carlow RTC while Cork Institute of Technology are paired with Dublin City University.
At a press conference in Croke Park to announce details of the competition, last evening the president of the GAA, Mr Joe McDonagh said that greater importance than ever is now attached to the Fitzgibbon Cup.
The President said that he was sure that, when the Cork born Capuchin Rev, Professor Edwin Fitzgibbon presented the trophy which bears his name he could hardly have foreseen the success of the competition nor the national status that it would achieve throughout the years.
"There is a mystique associated with the Fitzgibbon Cup competition as in few others," said Mr McDonagh, who himself has the privilege of playing in seven Fitzgibbons in the 1970's and won a cherished medal in the 1977 competition.
The President said that the Fitzgibbon Cup had also made an additional and singularly important contribution to the GAA as it was the nursery from which many of the Association's administrators came - men who were vital cogs in the machinery that ensured that the GAA would develop to the great sporting organisation it is today.
Mr McDonagh also said that he had no doubt that this year's competition will engender the same interest and passion as in former years.
"I hope that the competition will be an expression of skill and a display of sportsmanship commensurate with the status of the competition and the players who are participating in it," stated the president.
The full Fitzgibbon Cup draw is
Preliminary Round. 31/1/1998.
DIT. v Tralee RTC; DCU v Cork RTC; Limerick RTC v WIT; St. Patricks, Maynooth v UCD; Carlow RTC v UCC; Galway RTC v TCD; QUB v UUJ. Byes. UL, Garda College, MICE, Athlone, UCG.
Round one. 4/2/1998.
(A) DIT or Tralee RTC v Galway RTC or TCD; (B) Carlow RTC or UCC v Athlone; (C) Garda College v UCG; (D) UL v MICE; (E) Winners of DCU and Cork RTC a bye; (F) Winners of Limerick RTC and WIT a bye; (G) Winners of St. Patrick's, Maynooth and UCD a bye; (H) Winners of GUB and UUJ a bye.
Quarter finals. 18/'2/1998.
(W) H v G; (X) E v B; (Y) D v C; (Z) F v A.
Semi finals. 28/2/1998.
Y v G; X v W.
Up to and including the quarter finals the first team named above will have home venue.
A total of eight teams will participate in the 3rd division championship and the draw is as follows.
Quarter finals 18/2/1998.
(I) UUC v Dundalk RTC; (2) Sligo RTC v Castlebar RTC; (3) NCIR. v Letterkenny RTC; (4) AAS. v Cadets.
Semi finals. 23/2/1998.
(1) v (4); (2) v (3).