Sigerson 2017

[ck]

The contrast over the last week sums up where Sigerson is. UUJ again the dock for fielding illegal players after their team of superstars get hammeted by UCD. Then little St Mary's from same parish go on and win the thing out by having a real team .

The issue is that UUJ are at this every year but are never held to account. Neither the public or the media give a damn so they carry on regardless. 

[PW Nally]

Are St Pats Drumcondra the Southern equivalent of St Mary's? They'd be well off today's level of football.

If St Mary's was just a teacher training college it would be barely fit to produce a competitive football team.  Teaching intake has been greatly decreased due to over-supply.

On the basis of the 2016 graduation, there are around 532 students on the 4 year BEd teaching course, there are 240 students taking BA in Liberal Arts courses and around 15-20 taking the PGCE teaching course for Irish Medium schools.  This means that the college has around 792 students.

This shows the level of this achievement to have a football squad winning the Sigerson from an enrolment of less than 800 students compared to the thousands attending the universities.

However, the level of achievement is even greater when it is considered that the number of men taking the BEd course is 144 and the number taking the teaching course is just 80.  It is some going to not just have a competitive team but a Sigerson winning squad from a male enrolment of just 224 in St Mary's College!  A huge share of this achievement must go to Paddy Tally for building this squad and managing them to this victory.

Out of interest what course is 29 year old Kevin McKiernan doing?

[skeog]

What is a liberal Arts course good for in regard to a getting a career.

[Jinxy]

Liberal Arts courses are full of liberal women.

[Take Your Points]

What is a liberal Arts course good for in regard to a getting a career.

From St Mary's website:

What does a Liberal Arts degree enable me to do?
Liberal Arts graduates from St Mary's have been successful in gaining places on a wide range of post-graduate study programmes, and in gaining employment in a varied range of professions including:
Accountant
Bank trainee manager
Business Development Manager
Community Education Officer
Equal Opportunities Officer
Financial Services Advisor
Human Resources Manager
Irish Language Broadcaster
Marketing and Events Coordinator
Police Officer
PR and Marketing Manager
Priest
Professional Copywriter
Sports Development Officer
Teacher

[Take Your Points]

The contrast over the last week sums up where Sigerson is. UUJ again the dock for fielding illegal players after their team of superstars get hammeted by UCD. Then little St Mary's from same parish go on and win the thing out by having a real team .

The issue is that UUJ are at this every year but are never held to account. Neither the public or the media give a damn so they carry on regardless.

Recruitment of players is the key for every college in the competition, just some are better at it than others and some keep within the rules. 

[Syferus]

There was a report out last week where around 20% of Arts grads are on less than €13,000 a year. IT way out in front, as it should be, with about half of the grads earning €29,000 a year.

Arts is for people who don't have too much of an idea what they want to do when they graduate. A lot go on to do a Masters or PHD in a field more applicable to a job. STEM is for people who want a job and/or know the field they want to operate in.

[T Fearon]

Sigerson was a much better tournament with just the six elite universities each with history and tradition and Coleraine thrown in as cannon fodder.Teacher training colleges had their own Ryan Cup also a good tournament.

[thewobbler]

The "st Mary's have only 300 male students" line is been throw around a lot on social media this weekend. Without wishing to piss on anyone's parade the figures are a tad misleading. As it's a teacher training college for effectively Catholic grammar schools, there's an unusually high ratio of students who have chosen a university path with a specific remit of playing and then coaching Gaelic Football.

While it's hardly set up to be a crack commando training unit, the format of their intake means they'll always be competitive.

---

Nobody has any business playing college football at 29 years old.
Sigerson needs 2 simple rules a la American colleges system: you can't play varsity sport past your 23rd birthday, and you can't play more than 4 seasons of it.

Recruitment tends to be more honest in these scenarios.

---

Despite my grumbles, sincerest congratulations to St Mary's on their Sigerson. Delighted to see it.

[Syferus]

The "st Mary's have only 300 male students" line is been throw around a lot on social media this weekend. Without wishing to piss on anyone's parade the figures are a tad misleading. As it's a teacher training college for effectively Catholic grammar schools, there's an unusually high ratio of students who have chosen a university path with a specific remit of playing and then coaching Gaelic Football.

While it's hardly set up to be a crack commando training unit, the format of their intake means they'll always be competitive.

---

Nobody has any business playing college football at 29 years old.
Sigerson needs 2 simple rules a la American colleges system: you can't play varsity sport past your 23rd birthday, and you can't play more than 4 seasons of it.

Recruitment tends to be more honest in these scenarios.

---

Despite my grumbles, sincerest congratulations to St Mary's on their Sigerson. Delighted to see it.

Eh? Which sports? NCAA football is the granddaddy in the US and it hasn't those rules, certainly not to the stringency you're suggesting. Brandon Weeden was a pro baseball player who went to college for the first time and ended up being a first round draft pick in the NFL at 28-29.

The problem isn't the age of players. If someone only gets round to going to college at 24 or 27 they shouldn't be punished for that. The problem is players jumping colleges because of money being offered to them to do so, with little being done by the GAA to prevent it. Losing a year of eligibility a la NCAA football in those cases would fix much of that.

[thewobbler]

Apologies - I was confused there. American collegiate rules are you can play up to four seasons, all within 5 years of leaving school.

---

TBH I cant see an issue anyhow with putting an age limit on it.

Anyone at uni also has a club and a county (if they're good enough). It's hardly robbing them of football to suggest that it's for a specific target age.

[omagh_gael]

Sigerson 2017 promo shoot...notice thst a certain West Belfast college is missing?

[Christmas Lights]

Why don't any of those lads in that picture appear to be breathing? Don't people usually breathe?

[Il Bomber Destro]

Why don't any of those lads in that picture appear to be breathing? Don't people usually breathe?

It's a still photo.

You can breathe through your nose.

[Fuzzman]

Paddy Tally has been at St Marys for years so delighted for him and wonder will that have an impact on maybe being the next Tyrone manager, whenever that might be.

On another note, does Martin McHugh lecture at UUJ or why is he their manager?