McDonagh praises role of Fitzgibbon

Details of this year's Fitzgibbon Cup, including the draw for the preliminary round, were announced at a reception last night in Croke Park. Among the interesting opening clashes are those between Maynooth and UCD, Carlow and UCC and Galway RTC and Trinity.

The competition will break new ground this year as the semi-finals and final will be staged at the Mary Immaculate College of Education in Limerick, who will be making their debut in the competition.

The preliminary round is on Saturday January 31st. The first round will be played on February 4th, with the quarter-finals on February 18th and the semi-finals on February 28th. The final is fixed for March 1st. Bus Eireann will sponsor the competition.

The president of the GAA, Joe McDonagh, who won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal in 1977 with University College, Galway, last night paid tribute to the contribution which third level colleges have made to the GAA. Pointing out that the competition was now in its 88th year, McDonagh said "a mystique" had evolve d about the Fitzgibbon Cup because "many great players who are part of the GAA first came to prominence in Fitzgibbon and Sigerson competition.

"The Fitzgibbon Cup, of course, also made an additional and singularly important contribution to the GAA. It was the nursery from which many of our administrators came, men who were vital cogs in the wheel that ensured that the GAA developed into the great organisation which it is today. He added that there were many challenges facing the GAA.

These challenges arose in the educational and sociological fields. "Greater importance than ever before is now attached to the Fitzgibbon Cup," he said. "With the introduction of free education several decades ago, a significantly greater number of our young people could aspire to third level education.

"This has resulted in a major expansion in the area of higher education and a large increase in the numbers playing Gaelic games at this level. For the past decade or so the colleges of higher education and the regional technical colleges have been an integral part of the competition."

In stark contrast to the Fitzgibbon, the Railway Cup competition has lost its appeal. But it still limps on and the football semi-finals have been fixed for Roscommon and Killarney next Sunday. Connacht have included nine members of the Mayo team for their clash with Ulster at Hyde Park. Galway and Sligo both have two players selected, while Roscommon and Leitrim have one each. Both Mayo midfielders - Pat Fallon and David Brady - are included.

Munster's selectors, headed by Paidi O Se, will announce their team to play Connacht today after checking on the availability and fitness of a number of players. Waterford manager Gerald McCarthy, and his selectors Greg Fives and John Galvin have rung the changes for Sunday's AIB senior hurling tournament final with Kilkenny at Dungarvan. The team shows eight personnel changes from the side that lost to Cork by six points in the last round of the Oireachtas competition at the end of November.

Dropped are goalkeeper Brendan Landers, defenders Sean Cullinane, Tony Brown and Brian Greene, mid-fielder Roy McGrath and the entire full forward line of Michael White, John Meaney and Dave Bennett.

Stephen Brenner takes over in goal while the Ballygunner quartet of Stephen Frampton, Fergal Hartley, Billy O'Sullivan and Paul Flynn are recalled having been unavailable for the Cork game because of Munster club championship commitments. There is a surprise call-up for Dungarvan's Eddie Burke at right corner back, while Peter Queally is placed in an uncustomary half back position. Sean Daly and Tom Fives have been omitted from the panel.

Meanwhile, Kilkenny have given All Star Liam Keoghan a new role. Keoghan, a wing back all his career, has been picked at corner back on an experimental team.