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McGrath Cup Senior Football Preliminary Round – Clare 0-18 UL 1-8
Maher in fitness battle for Sigerson
Clare 0-18 University of Limerick 1-08
By Gerry Quinn for the Irish Examiner newspaper
UL are sweating on the fitness of Kerry midfielder Anthony Maher for the Sigerson Cup after he was forced off in the first quarter of this McGrath Cup tie at Doonbeg yesterday. The Duagh clubman, midfield for the Kingdom in last year’s All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin, damaged his shoulder joint in a clash after 15 minutes. UL boss, and former Kerry goalkeeping star, Declan O’Keeffe is fearful his star man is facing three or four weeks on the sidelines which could rule him out of the first-round match against University of Ulster, Jordanstown on Tuesday, January 31st or Wednesday, February 1st. He could also be battling to be fit for his county’s Allianz Football League opener against Dublin on February 4th
“It was a late shoulder, he was just after letting off the ball, but there was nothing malicious in it. He would be a massive loss for us. The physios don’t think it is too serious but he could be facing three or four weeks out which could be cutting it tight for the Sigerson or the start of the League. We will know a little more on Monday when we have it assessed again.” O’Keeffe’s side trailed 0-10 to 0-4 at the break where good underfoot conditions and little or no wind dictated that direct football was served up to a small but enthusiastic crowd.
The hosts opened the scoring with a well taken point by full-forward Gary Brennan inside two minutes, setting up a pattern for the remainder of the tie. Midfielders, David Russell and Ger Quinlan dominated, allowing forwards like Rory Donnelly, Brennan and captain David Tubridy to pick of some good scores as the half progressed. In the second period UL did hit a purple patch of sorts kicking three points in as many minutes early in the half. An Edmund Walsh goal on 57 reduced the deficit to four but a motivated Clare forged ahead for a well deserved victory.
Scorers for Clare: D Tubridy (0-7, 4fs, 1 ‘45), G Brennan (0-4), R Donnelly (0-3), G Quinlan (0-3), P Collins (0-1).
Scorers for UL: C Dempsey (0-4) 2 f’s, E Walsh (1-0), M Cahalane, J O’Donoghue, M Geaney, F Fitzgerald (0-1) each.
CLARE: P O’Dwyer; K Hartnett, S McNeilis, M McMahon; E Troy, Gordon Kelly, Graham Kelly; D Russell, G Quinlan; D Daly, R Donnelly, S Brennan; P Collins, G Brennan, D Tubridy.
Subs: D Blake for Graham Kelly (32), M Foran for Collins (56), S O’Driscoll for Troy (56), S Haugh for Hartnett (64), D Murphy for Tubridy inj. (69).
UL: J Lyster (Kildare) (c); M Culloty (Kerry), D O’Sullivan (Cork), P O’Connor (Kerry); F Fitzgerald (Kerry), M Geaney (Kerry), J Lyne (Kerry); A Maher (Kerry), A Rockett (Tipperary); K Hurley (Cork), D Niblock (Cork), M Cahalane (Cork); J O’Donoghue (Kerry), C Dempsey (Mayo), J O’Rourke (Cork).
Subs: T Ladden (Kerry) for Maher inj. (15), J O’Brien (Leitrim) for Rockett (ht), E Walsh (Kerry) for O’Rourke (46).
Referee: B Tyrell (Tipperary)
For the Record
| Clare | University of Limerick | |
| 2011 McGrath Cup Performance | Defeated UCC, CIT and Waterford before losing to Kerry in the Final. | Lost to Tipperary by 2-14 to 0-13 in the Preliminary Round |
| Number of McGrath Cup Senior Football titles | 10 | 0 |
| Last McGrath Cup Senior Football Title | 2008 | N/A |
| McGrath Cup Senior Football Record since 2000 | Played – 23 Won – 14 Lost – 9 Drawn – 0 |
Played – 11 Won – 5 Lost – 6 Drawn – 0 |
McGrath Cup Senior Football 2012
Preliminary Round (Extra time)
Sunday January 8th
@ WIT Sportsgrounds Waterford v IT Tralee @ 2:00pm
@ Doonbeg Clare v UL @ 2:00pm
@ Clonmel Sportsfield Tipperary v LIT @ 2:00pm
Quarter-Finals (Extra time)
Sunday January 15th
@ TBC CIT v Waterford or IT Tralee @ 2:00pm
@ Pairc Ui Rinn Cork v Clare or UL @ 2:00pm
@ TBC WIT v Tipperary or LIT @ 2:00pm
@ Michael Neville Park Limerick v UCC @ 2:00pm
Semi-Finals (Extra time)
Sunday January 22nd
Final (Extra time)
Sunday January 29th
McGrath Cup Senior Football – Odds and Ends
Clare have contested 6 Finals since 2000, winning the title in 2000, 2002 and 2008.
Since the Third Level Colleges were allowed to take part in the McGrath Cup competition in 2005, only the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and UCC have qualified for the final. CIT lost the 2005 Final to Limerick by 2-10 to 1-3 while UCC lost to Kerry by 1-11 to 0-9 in the 2010 Final.
The record of the Third Level Colleges in the McGrath Cup since entering in 2005 is Won 18, Lost 38. No College team won a game in 2011.
Waterford won the first McGrath Cup title in 1981, captained by Michael Coffey. This is their only McGrath Cup title to date.
From 2000 through 2011, 84 matches were played in the McGrath Cup. Limerick have won the most games in this period, a total of 15 against 9 defeats. Clare have 14 victories since 2000 while Cork recorded 13 victories during 5 campaigns.
Since 2000, Kerry have taken part in the McGrath Cup on 4 occasions (2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011), losing just twice in 13 matches (to Tipperary in the 2005 Quarter-Final and to Cork in the 2006 Final).
The Waterford Institute of Technology have yet to win a McGrath Cup match in their 7 years taking part in the competition. IT Tralee won their first match in 2005 and have lost their last 5.
McGrath Cup Senior Football Roll Of Honour
Clare (10) – 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2008
Limerick (5) – 1985, 1987, 2001, 2004, 2005
Cork (5) – 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2009
Tipperary (3) – 1989, 1993, 2003
Kerry (3) – 1996, 2010, 2011
Waterford (1) – 1981
London (1) – 1988
Visit the Munster GAA web site History section to view the complete Roll of Honour since the competition began in 1981 – https://munster.gaa.ie/history/mcgrath-cup-football/
McGrath Cup
Presented by Joe McGrath on June 21st, 1981 for the promotion of Senior Football in Munster
