Strong Offaly links in Maynooth's Sigerson Cup mission
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Maynooth University’s sole Sigerson Cup title win in 1976 (as St Patrick’s College) and there are strong Offaly links to this year’s squad who are looking to bridge a half-century gap to that famous success.
Maynooth, who last contested the final in 2012, opened with a superb away win over St Mary’s University in Belfast, with Tullamore man Harry Plunkett coming off the bench to land 0-5 in that match.
The team is managed by Ballycumber native Aidan Minnock, with Georgie Digan of Ferbane a key member of the backroom. Former Offaly minor manager Digan was a coach with the Sallins team who recently won the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship with a final victory over Tubberclair. Sallins manager Johnny Daniels is also part of the Maynooth management.
Minnock has been impressed with what Plunkett, whose hat-trick of two-pointers famously helped Tullamore win the Offaly SFC final last year, has brought to his squad.
“This is his third year playing Sigerson and he's getting better the whole time. He's getting rewarded for his performances for Tullamore and was among the top scorers in the Offaly Senior Championship. He's pushing on, he scored 0-5 when he came on (against St Mary’s),” Minnock said.
“There is good strength in depth there, we are able to call on strong subs who can come in and make a difference.”
Maynooth fell by five points (3-16 to 2-14) against UCD on Tuesday evening last at Belfield in a rollercoaster of a match in which the Kildare college led by four and then trailed by five in the first half before taking a two-point lead in with them at the break, Plunkett curling over a superb point with the final play of the first half.
Maynooth are still on contention, despite the loss, and will hope to welcome back injured Meath duo Eoghan Frayne and Ruairi Kinsella. The Kildare college have been building strongly towards an assault on the Sigerson for some years now and have re-established themselves as one of the leading third-level set-ups in Gaelic games, with over a dozen inter-county senior players in their squad at present.