ULSTER BANK SIGERSON CUP . The final stages of the Ulster Bank Sigerson Cup will be played at Cork IT on the 27th and 28th of February . The Sigerson Cup is the blue-riband event for third level Gaelic Football and one of the most prestigious titles in GAA . Last year University of Ulster Jordanstown won the Ulster Bank Sigerson Cup . The trophy is named after a former UCD University Professor, Dr. George Sigerson who donated the salary from his post at UCD so that a trophy could be purchased for the competition . The cup was first presented in 1911, with the inaugural winners being UCD . In the early days of the tournament, only UCD, UCC and UCG took part. The competition has been run off every year since, with the exceptions of 1920, 1942 and 1967 . A writer, scholar and politician, Dr. Sigerson was born in Strabane, Co. Tyrone in 1839, and was a leading light in the Celtic Renaissance in Ireland. In presenting the trophy at the first final, he proclaimed the aspiration that "this trophy, symbolic of the unity of our race, will travel round Ireland, visiting the provinces in turn". The cup is modelled on an ancient drinking vessel - the Mether - which is symbolic of friendship, and the four handles of the represent each of the provinces . As the years passed, the domination of the original big three was challenged by a number of new participants. Queen's University, Belfast, entered the competition for the first time in 1923, but did not enter thereafter until 1933. They have participated in the competition every year since, however, and won their first title in 1958. Queen's have eight titles to their name with the last one coming in 2007 . As society in general changed with time, and more and more people began to enter third-level education, the number of Colleges and Universities grew rapidly. The impact of these changes on the Sigerson Cup has been immeasurable. Trinity College Dublin first entered in 1963, followed by NUIM in 1972, University of Ulster (Coleraine) in 1976, and Jordanstown in 1985. The next colleges to enter were Thormond, NIHE Limerick and St. Mary's, Belfast, all in 1988. Further expansion, and the admittance of Regional Technical Colleges to the competition, saw DCU enter in 1990, the RTC's from Athlone in 1991, Sligo in 1992, Cork in 1995 and Tralee in 1996 ULSTER BANK SIGERSON CUP 2009 ALL MATCHES AT 2.00pm UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED - [E.T. if necessary] Round 1 - 28.01.09 (St Mary's, BMC, IT Carlow, DKIT, UL, IT Tralee, AIT, GMIT, NUIM) A IT Tralee v Athlone IT B St Mary's Belfast v Carlow IT C NUI Maynooth v University of Limerick D BMC v Dundalk IT E GMIT Bye Round 2 - 04.02.09 Open Draw: 14 teams - (4 Round 1 winners and 1 Bye) + (QUB, UUJ, DIT, DCU, UCD, UCC, Garda, IT Sligo, NUIG) F UCD v Winners C (NUI Maynooth/UL) G QUB v UUJ H Winner D (BMC/DKIT) v Garda College I Winner B (St. Marys/CWIT) v NUI Galway J DIT v Winners A (IT Tralee/Athlone IT) K E (GMIT) v UCC L IT Sligo v Dublin City University Quarter-Finals - 18.02.09 (CIT + 7 Round 2 winners) M Winner G v Winner I N Cork IT v Winner L O Winner K v Winner J P Winner H v Winner F 27.02.09/28.02.09 - Semi-Finals and Final _________________ v __________________ Q R _________________ v __________________ S T Cork IT ULSTER BANK TRENCH CUP 2009 ALL MATCHES AT 2.00pm UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED - [E.T. if necessary] Round 1 - 04.02.09 (Open Draw): 9 teams (St Pats, TCD, Law School, NCI, IT Tallaght, LIT, WIT, LYIT, UUC) A Limerick IT v Waterford IT B St. Pat's Drumcondra v Letterkenny IT C IT Tallaght v The Law School D Trinity College Dublin v NCI E UU Coleraine Bye Quarter-Finals - 18.02.09 (4 winners of Round 1 + 1 bye + MICL) F Mary Immaculate v Winner C (IT Tallaght/The Law School) G Winner B v E (UUC) H Winner D v Winner A Semi-Finals - 27.02.09 (Fri) in Cork British Winners v _________________ F _______________ v _________________ G H Final - 28.02.09 (Sat) in Cork ULSTER BANK CORN NA MAC LÉINN 2009 ALL MATCHES AT 2.00pm UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED - [E.T. if necessary] Round 1: 03.02.09 (Open Draw) 13 teams (RCSI, IT Blanchardstown, DLIADT, Froebel, Cadets, Tipp Inst-St Pats, Mater Dei, UUM, Stranmillis, Garnerville Gaels, Marino, GMIT Letterfrack, GMIT Castlebar) A Tipp Inst/St. Pat's v GMIT Castlebar B RCSI v Cadets C GMIT Letterfrack v Froebel College D Mater Dei v Marino College E DLIADT v Stranmillis College F IT Blanchardstown Bye G Garnerville Gaels Bye H University of Ulster Magee Bye Qtr-Finals: 10.02.09 (Open Draw) 5 winners on Round 1 + 3 byes I G (Garnerville Gaels) v Winner E J F (IT Blanchardstown) v H (Garnerville Gaels) K Winner C v Winner B L Winner D v Winner A Semi-Finals: 17.02.09 _________________ v __________________ I J _________________ v __________________ K L Final: 28.02.09 (Sat) in Cork ULSTER BANK Further Education Championship 2009 ALL MATCHES AT 2.00pm UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED - [E.T. if necessary] 9 teams (NWRC, Cavan Inst, Colaiste Íde, Inchicore, Carlow IE, CCFE, Dunboyne CFE, Coláiste Dhúlaigh, Portlaoise College) First Round: 04.02.09 (Open Draw) A Cork Colleges of Further Education v Inchicore College Qtr-Finals: 10.02.09 (Open Draw) B NWRC v Carlow I.E. C Portlaoise College v Cavan Institute D Winner A v Coláiste Íde E Coláiste Dhúlaigh v Dunboyne CFE Semi-Finals: By 18.02.09 _________________ v __________________ B C _________________ v __________________ D E Final: 27.02.09 (Fri) in Cork Tweet

Most Read Stories