The draw for the 2016 Higher Education Sigerson Cup competition in gaelic football was made at Croke Park on Wednesday.
IT Sligo have been drawn away to IT Carlow in the opening round. The winners of that contest will face either the holders DCU or Athlone IT in the quarter-finals.
The team is managed this year by Sligo man Willie Gormley, who guided Tubbecurry to a Sligo Senior Club Championship title in 2014.
“It will be a very difficult game against Carlow, especially in their own back yard”, said Willie on hearing news of the draw. “IT Carlow were Sigerson Cup semi-finalists last year so, we have a very tough game ahead of us.”
IT Sligo are three-time past winners of the competition (2002, 2004 and 2005) – and reached the quarter-finals of last year’s competition before losing to UCC.
2016 Sigerson Cup draw in full:
Preliminary Round:
NUI Galway v Trinity College (TCD)
Garda College v Cork IT
St Pat’s Drumcondra v GMIT.
First Round:
UCC v St Pat’s/GMIT
NUI Galway/TCD v UCD
UL v IT Tralee
Maynooth University v Queen’s
Ulster University v Garda/Cork IT
St Mary’s Belfast v DIT
DCU v Athlone IT
IT Carlow v IT Sligo.
Dates and times to be confirmed (End of January 2016).
The Institute’s senior hurlers have been drawn with Dundalk IT and GMIT (Letterfrack) in the group stages of the Fergal Maher Cup.