Trinity’s hurlers have drawn alongside the University of Limerick (UL), Dublin City University (DCU) and Maynooth University in Group A of the 2020 Fitzgibbon Cup.
Trinity are faced with an uphill battle in their hopes for progressing to the knock-out stages of the competition – UL won the cup outright in 2018, while DCU reached the final in the same year.
In January 2019, Trinity won their first-ever Fitzgibbon Cup match, after defeating Garda College 1-15 to 0-13 in last year’s group stage. Despite the victory, they did not qualify for the knock-out rounds.
Trinity were promoted to the top tier of third-level hurling in 2016.
Elsewhere in the draw, Mary Immaculate College, Technical University Dublin (TUD), Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) and Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) face off in Group B. In Group C, cup holders University College Cork (UCC) will face local rivals Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and NUI Galway in the opening rounds, while in Group D, University College Dublin (UCD) will match up against Institute of Technology Carlow and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT).
The draw for the Sigerson Cup, the premier third-level Gaelic Football competition, also took place yesterday afternoon. The Sigerson Cup consists of 16 teams who are drawn against each other in a knockout style tournament. Reigning champions UCC will face NUI Galway as they begin their title defence in January.
The competition will kick off on January 12th with Trinity’s Fitzgibbon Cup opponents DCU and UL facing off at the DCU Sports Grounds for the curtain raiser.
Trinity’s hurlers have endured a difficult start to their season, losing all three of their Senior Hurling League Division 1 matches against TUD, UCD and DCU respectively.
Fitzgibbon Cup
Group A
UL, DCU, Maynooth University, Trinity
Group B
Mary Immaculate College, TUD, WIT, LIT
Group C
NUI Galway, UCC, CIT
Group D
UCD, IT Carlow, GMIT