# 2017 Fitzgibbon Cup

The 2017 independent.ie Fitzgibbon Cup was the 101st staging of the Fitzgibbon Cup since its establishment in 1912. The semi-finals and final were hosted by NUI Galway on 24 and 25 February 2017. Mary I retained the title after a 3–24 to 1–19 win against IT Carlow in the final.

## Format

Group stage
Sixteen institutes of higher education compete in groups of four. Each team in a group plays all the other teams in the group once. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw.
Knockout stage
The four group winners play the four group runners-up in the quarter-finals. The semi-finals and final are played over a single weekend, usually the last Friday and Saturday in February.

## Group stage
### Group A

    Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts 1 Mary I Limerick 32107-771-42535 2 IT Carlow 321010-561-44395 3 DIT 31025-389-57-312 4 GMIT 30030-3811-66-610
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | Mary I Limerick | 2-31 - 0-16 | GMIT | MICL Grounds Referee: Mick Murtagh |
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | D O'Donovan (0-8, 0-1 free, 0-1 sideline); C Lynch, T Grimes (1-2); A Gillane (0-5, 0-1 free); T Monaghan, M O'Neill (0-4); R Maher (0-3); C Galvin (0-2); E Quirke (0-1) | Report | A Ward (0-8, 0-6 frees, 0-1 '65); J Mannion, J Forde (0-2); I Creaven, J Mooney, L Kelly, R Doyle | MICL Grounds Referee: Mick Murtagh |
| 24 January 2017 19:00 Round 1 | IT Carlow | 4-18 - 1-15 | DIT | Carlow I.T. Referee: James McGrath |
| 24 January 2017 19:00 Round 1 | S Maher (0-8, 0-5 frees); C Bolger (2-1); J Fagan (1-2); C Dwyer (0-4); M Kavanagh (0-3); M Redmond (1-0) | Report | B Maher (1-2), D McNicholas (0-4, 0-2 frees); C O'Donoghue (0-3, 0-2 frees); S Keating, J Guiney, R Greville, A Nugent, C Sheehan, T Doyle (0-1) | Carlow I.T. Referee: James McGrath |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | IT Carlow | 0-18 - 0-18 | Mary I Limerick | Carlow I.T. |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | Stephen Maher (0-9, 0-7 frees, 0-1 '65); Colin Dunford, Cha Dwyer, Marty Kavanagh (0-2); Enda Rowland (0-1 free); James Doyle, Tommy Nolan (0-1) | Report | | Carlow I.T. |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | DIT | 3-15 - 0-11 | GMIT | Carnmore Referee: K McGeeney (Mayo) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | D McNicholas (1-4, 1-2 frees); L Blanchfield, S Keating (1-0); R Greville (0-3, 0-1 '65); B Maher (0-3); J Guiney (0-2); C Byrne, C Taylor, R Curley (0-1) | Report | A Ward (0-7 frees); D Mangan (0-2); C Slevin (0-1 penalty); E McEvoy (0-1) | Carnmore Referee: K McGeeney (Mayo) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | GMIT | 0-11 - 6-20 | IT Carlow | Carnmore Referee: M Murtagh (Westmeath) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | D Burke 0-9 (7f, 1 ’65), A Ward, D Conroy 0-1 each. | Report | S Maher 3-12 (8f, 0-2 ’65), M Russell 1-0, J Fagan 1-0, C Bolger 1-0, M Kavanagh 0-3, J Doyle 0-2, C Dwyer, E Rowland (f), T Nolan 0-1 each. | Carnmore Referee: M Murtagh (Westmeath) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | DIT | 1-8 - 5-28 | Mary I Limerick | Grangegorman Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | C O’Donoghue 1-0, C Taylor 0-2 (1f), D McNicholas 0-2f, J Walsh 0-1, J Guiney 0-1f, L Blanchfield 0-1, N Walsh 0-1. | Report | Aaron Gillane 3-9 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), Cian Lynch 0-6, Darragh O’Donovan 1-2, Thomas Monaghan 0-4, Tadhg Gallagher 1-0, Mikey O’Neill 0-2, Alan Flynn, Ronan Maher, Colm Galvin, Luke Meade, David Sweeney 0-1 each. | Grangegorman Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |

### Group B

    Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts 1 UL 22004-442-28224 2 NUI Galway 21016-263-3322 3 CIT 21011-302-31-22 4 DCU St Patricks Campus 20021-185-28-220
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | UL | 2-23 - 0-16 | CIT | UL Grounds Referee: Alan Kelly |
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | J McGrath (1-8, 0-6 frees, 0-1 '65); K Hehir (0-4); S Bennett (1-1); T Kelly, B Heffernan (0-2); A McGuane, T Morrissey, G Hegarty, J Forde, R Lynch, B Nash (0-1) | Report | M Kearney (0-11, 0-9 frees, 0-1 '65); M Cahalane (0-2); R Hanley, T O'Connor, A Coffey (0-1) | UL Grounds Referee: Alan Kelly |
| 25 January 2017 13:00 Round 1 | NUI Galway | 4-14 - 1-12 | DCU St Patricks Campus | NUIG Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |
| 25 January 2017 13:00 Round 1 | S Conlon (2-2); C Cleary (1-3); K McHugo (1-2); G Hennelly (0-2 frees); G Loughnane (0-2), A Helebert (0-1 free); O Donnellan, C Whelan (0-1) | | W Ryan (0-6, 0-4 frees); C Breathnach (1-1); P Spellacy (0-3); J Firman, C Brady (0-1) | NUIG Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | UL | 2-21 - 2-12 | NUI Galway | UL Grounds Referee: J McCormack (Tipperary) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | J McGrath (1-5, 0-4 frees); S Bennett (1-5); G Hegarty (0-4); D Fitzgerald, K Hehir (0-2); M Mullins, L Lyons, T Morrissey (0-1) | Report | N Mitchell (1-4 frees); S Conlon (1-1); K McHugo (0-2); G Hennelly (0-2, 0-1 free); C Cleary (0-2 frees); O Donnellan (0-1) | UL Grounds Referee: J McCormack (Tipperary) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | CIT | 1-14 - 0-6 | DCU St Patricks Campus | St Pats GAA Pitch Referee: J Keane (Galway) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | M Kearney (1-6, 1-0 penalty, 0-4 frees); A Coffey (0-3, 0-1 free); J O’Neill (0-2); J Buckley, T O’Connor, C Kingston (0-1) | Report | B Ryan (0-5 frees); P Spellacy (0-1) | St Pats GAA Pitch Referee: J Keane (Galway) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | DCU St Patrick's Campus | 2-14 - 4-31 | UL | St Pats GAA Pitch Referee: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | Billy Ryan 2-7 (1-7f), Sean Morrissey 0-4, Fearghal Curran 0-2, Christy Breathnach 0-1. | Report | Bobby Duggan 0-12 (1f, 1 65), John McGrath 1-8 (0-6f, 0-1 65), Lorcan Lyons 1-2, PJ Scully 1-1, Mike Mullins 1-0, Tony Kelly 0-3, Adrian Morrissey, Jason Forde, Aidan McGuane, Ronan Lynch & John Paul Lucey 0-1 each. | St Pats GAA Pitch Referee: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | CIT | 0-19 - 0-19 | NUI Galway | Cork IT Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | Michael Kearney 0-8 (0-6 frees), John O’Dwyer 0-5 (0-4 frees), Michael Cahalane, Jerry O’Neill 0-2 each, John Good, Andrew Coffey 0-1 each. | Report | Ger Hennelly 0-11 (0-8 frees, 0-2 65), Ian Fox, Kevin McHugo, Conor Whelan 0-2 each, Oisín Donnellan, Gearóid Loughnane 0-1 each. | Cork IT Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary) |

### Group C

    Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts 1 Limerick IT 22006-330-22294 2 WIT 21015-252-22122 3 DCU Dóchas Éireann 21011-293-2212 4 Trinity College Dublin 20021-158-36-420
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | Limerick IT | 4-21 - 0-7 | Trinity College Dublin | Limerick IT Referee: Joe Larkin (Cork) |
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | S Bennett (3-7, 1-0 pen, 0-6 frees); D Dempsey (1-2, 0-1 free); D Byrnes (0-3, 0-1 '65); P Killeen, P Duggan, J McCarthy (0-2); J Shanahan, B O'Gorman, J Campion (0-1) | Report | C O'Sullivan (0-6, 0-4 frees, 0-1 '65, 0-1 sideline); N Redmond (0-1) | Limerick IT Referee: Joe Larkin (Cork) |
| 24 January 2017 19:00 Round 1 | DCU Dóchas Éireann | 1-14 - 1-10 | WIT | Dublin City University Sportsgrounds Referee: Patrick Murphy (Carlow) |
| 24 January 2017 19:00 Round 1 | P Curran (1-6, 0-3 frees); J O'Connor, R McBride (0-2); G Bailey, P Hogan, K Doyle, AJ Murphy (0-1) | Report | L McGrath (0-7, 0-5 frees, 0-1 sideline); A Joyce, S McNulty, C Lyons (0-1) | Dublin City University Sportsgrounds Referee: Patrick Murphy (Carlow) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | WIT | 4-15 - 1-8 | Trinity College Dublin | Santry Avenue Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | L McGrath 0-7 (5fs), S Ryan 2-0, A Joyce, J O’Connor 1-0 each, T Fox, S McNulty 0-2 each, J O’Dwyer, P Walsh, C Lyons, A Gleeson (f) 0-1 each. | Report | C O’Sullivan 1-6 (1-0 sl, 0-6fs), E Kelly, C O’Carroll 0-1 each. | Santry Avenue Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow) |
| 2 February 2017 19:00 Round 2 | Limerick IT | 2-12 - 0-15 | DCU Dóchas Éireann | Dublin City University Sportsgrounds Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath) |
| 2 February 2017 19:00 Round 2 | P Killeen 2-0, S Bennett 0-6 (3f), D Byrnes 0-2 (1f), D Reidy, M O'Malley, P Duggan, S Ryan 0-1 each | Report | P Curran 0-8 (6f), J O'Connor 0-2, P O'Dea 0-2, J Byrne 0-2, G Bailey 0-1. | Dublin City University Sportsgrounds Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | Trinity College Dublin | 1-14 - 0-19 | DCU Dóchas Éireann | Santry Avenue Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | Cian O’Sullivan 0-8 (6f), Jack O’Neill 1-0, Donncha Butler 0-3, Fionn O Riain Broin 0-2 (1f), Niall Redmond 0-1. | Report | Patrick Curran 0-12 (10f), Gavin Bailey 0-2, Rian McBride, AJ Murphy, Killian Doyle, Tony French & Eoghan Conroy 0-1 each. | Santry Avenue Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | WIT | 3-13 - 5-14 | Limerick IT | WIT Sports Campus |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | | Report | | WIT Sports Campus |

### Group D

    Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts 1 UCC 33006-433-23296 2 UCD 32012-511-26284 3 Maynooth University 31024-501-5092 4 UUJ 30033-1610-61-660
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | UCC | 5-13 - 2-4 | UUJ | Mardyke Referee: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny) |
| 24 January 2017 14:00 Round 1 | A Cadogan (3-1); R O'Shea (1-7, 0-6 frees); J O'Flynn (1-1); G O'Brien (0-2); R Cahalane, A Spillane (0-1) | Report | N McKeague (1-2, 0-2 frees); L Dunphy (1-0 free); J Connolly, K Rice (0-1) | Mardyke Referee: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny) |
| 24 January 2017 19:00 Round 1 | UCD | 0-21 - 0-13 | Maynooth University | Belfield Referee: John Keenan (Wicklow) |
| 24 January 2017 19:00 Round 1 | DJ Foran (0-10, 0-4 frees, 0-2 '65s); D Dolan (0-3, 0-1 free); L Scanlon, C Cronin (0-2); T de Burca, J O'Connor, O O'Rorke, S Quirke (0-1) | Report | | Belfield Referee: John Keenan (Wicklow) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | Maynooth University | 4-23 - 1-7 | UUJ | Jordanstown Referee: K Brady (Louth) |
| 2 February 2017 14:00 Round 2 | B Molloy (1-13, 0-7 frees, 0-1 '65); P Walsh (0-5); D Egerton, N Kenny, E Kenny (1-0); D Burke, MJ Lalor (0-2); S O’Brien (0-1) | Report | N McKeague (1-2, 1-0 penalty); D Nugent (0-2, 0-1 free); K Rice, M Dudley, J Connolly (0-1) | Jordanstown Referee: K Brady (Louth) |
| 2 February 2017 15:00 Round 2 | UCC | 1-8 - 1-5 | UCD | Belfield Referee: A Devine (Westmeath) |
| 2 February 2017 15:00 Round 2 | M O’Brien (1-1); R O’Shea (0-3, 0-2 frees); A Cadogan, J O’Flynn, G O’Brien and C O’Leary (0-1) | Report | DJ Foran (1-3, 0-2 frees, 0-1 '65); C MacGabhann (0-2) | Belfield Referee: A Devine (Westmeath) |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | Maynooth University | 0-14 - 0-22 | UCC | Maynooth University North Campus |
| 7 February 2017 14:00 Round 3 | B Molloy 0-9f, B Hogan 0-2f, C Breen, D Egerton, R Donohue 0-1 each. | Report | R O’Shea 0-9f, M O’Brien, J Barron 0-3 each; S Kennedy, C O’Leary 0-2 each; G O’Brien, T Devine, A Cadogan 0-1 each | Maynooth University North Campus |
| 7 February 2017 14:30 Round 3 | UUJ | 0-5 - 1-25 | UCD | Jordanstown |
| 7 February 2017 14:30 Round 3 | | Report | | Jordanstown |

## Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | | | |
| UL | 0-23 | | | |
| UL | 0-23 | 24 February - NUIG | 24 February - NUIG | | |
| IT Carlow | 4-16 | 24 February - NUIG | 24 February - NUIG | |
| IT Carlow | 4-16 | IT Carlow | 2-20 | |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | | IT Carlow | 2-20 | |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | UCC | 1-20 | |
| UCC | 1-18 | UCC | 1-20 | |
| UCC | 1-18 | | | | 25 February - NUIG | 25 February - NUIG |
| DCU Dóchas Éireann | 0-16 | | | | 25 February - NUIG | 25 February - NUIG |
| DCU Dóchas Éireann | 0-16 | | | | IT Carlow | 1-19 |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | | | | | IT Carlow | 1-19 |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | | | | Mary I Limerick | 3-24 |
| Mary I Limerick | 4-18 | | | | Mary I Limerick | 3-24 |
| Mary I Limerick | 4-18 | 24 February - NUIG | 24 February - NUIG | | | |
| NUIG | 1-16 | 24 February - NUIG | 24 February - NUIG | | | |
| NUIG | 1-16 | Mary I Limerick | 0-19 | | | |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | | Mary I Limerick | 0-19 | | | |
| 14 February - | 14 February - | LIT | 0-14 | |
| LIT | 1-20 | LIT | 0-14 | |
| UCD | 1-13 | | | |

### Quarter-finals

Group winners had home advantage for the quarter-finals.
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | UCC | 1-18 - 0-16 | DCU Dóchas Éireann | Mardyke Referee: Alan Kelly (Galway) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | Séamus Kennedy 0-4 (2f), Anthony Spillane 0-3, Michael Breen 1-0, Jamie Barron (0-1 free), Alan Cadogan (0-1 free), Chris O’Leary (0-2 frees) 0-2 each, Mark O’Brien, Conor Gleeson, Gavin O’Brien, Mark O’Connor, Michael O’Halloran 0-1 each. | Report | Patrick Curran 0-7 (0-6 frees), AJ Murphy 0-3, Rian McBride 0-2, Paul O’Dea, Liam Fahey, Paul Kelly, Killian Doyle 0-1 each. | Mardyke Referee: Alan Kelly (Galway) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | LIT | 1-20 - 1-13 | UCD | Limerick IT Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | P Killeen 0-7 (6f), J McCarthy 1-3, D Byrnes 0-3 (1f), S Bennett (1f) & D Dempsey 0-2 each, B O’Connell, P Duggan & W Connors 0-1 each. | Report | DJ Foran 0-5 (4f), L Scanlon 1-0, O O’Rorke 0-3 (2f), D Dolan 0-2, J Madden, T de Búrca (f) & J Maher 0-1 each. | Limerick IT Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | UL | 0-23 - 4-16 | IT Carlow | UL Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | John McGrath 0-8 (6f, 1 ’65), Tony Kelly 0-4, David Fitzgerald 0-3, Gearoid Hegarty 0-2, Aidan McGuane 0-2, Aidan McGuane 0-2, Michael Mullins 0-1, Jason Forde 0-1 (f). | Report | Stephen Maher 0-6 (4f, 1 ’65), Jack Fagan 1-2, Martin Kavanagh 1-2, Mark Russell 1-1, Chris Bolger 1-1, Charles Dwyer 0-2, James Doyle 0-1, Colin Dunford 0-1. | UL Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | Mary I Limerick | 4-18 - 1-16 | NUIG | MICL Grounds Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary) |
| 14 February 2017 Quarter-final | Aaron Gillane 2-10 (0-4f, 0-2 65s), Luke Meade 1-2, Tadhg Gallagher 1-0, Michael O’Neill 0-3, Darragh O’Donovan 0-2, Thomas Monaghan 0-1. | Report | Gerry Hennelly 0-9 (6f, 1 65), Gearoid Loughnane 1-0, Conor Whelan 0-3 (1f, 1 sl), Conor Cleary (f), Ian Fox, Oisin Donnellan & Sam Conlon 0-1 each. | MICL Grounds Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary) |

### Semi-finals

| 24 February 2017 13:00 Semi-final | IT Carlow | 2-20 - 1-20 | UCC | NUIG Referee: Barry Kelly (Westmeath) |
| 24 February 2017 13:00 Semi-final | S Maher 0-11 (6f, 2’65), C Bolger 0-4, K Kelly 1-1, C Dunford 1-0, M Kavanagh 0-2, J Fagan 0-1, E Rowland 0-1 (1f). | Report | R O’Shea 0-7 (5f), M Breen 0-5, J Power 1-1, A Spillane 0-2, J Barron 0-2, A Cadagon 0-1, M O’Connor 0-1, T Devine 0-1. | NUIG Referee: Barry Kelly (Westmeath) |
| 24 February 2017 15:00 Semi-final | Mary I Limerick | 0-19 - 0-14 | LIT | NUIG Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow) |
| 24 February 2017 15:00 Semi-final | A Gillane 0-12 (10f, 1’65), C Galvin 0-3, D O’Donovan 0-1 (1’sl), R Maher 0-1, M O’Neill 0-1, S Cahill 0-1. | Report | P Killeen 0-7 (7f), P Duggan 0-2 (2f), W Connors 0-2, D Dempsey 0-1, J McCarthy 0-1 (1f), S Ryan 0-1. | NUIG Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow) |

### Final

| 25 February 2017 14:00 Final | IT Carlow | 1-19 - 3-24 | Mary I Limerick | Pearse Stadium Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |
| 25 February 2017 14:00 Final | S Maher 1-13 (12fs), C Dunford 0-2, C Dwyer 0-2, M Kavanagh 0-1, C Bolger 0-1. | Report | A Gillane 1-5 (1-0 pen, 4fs), D O’Donovan 1-3 (0-2 sl), R Maher 0-4 (3fs), P Ryan 1-0, M O’Neill 0-3, C Lynch 0-3, C Twomey 0-3, C Galvin 0-1, L Meade 0-1, S Cahill 0-1. | Pearse Stadium Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly) |

## Awards

Team of the Year
* Enda Rowland
* David Sweeney
* Damien Healy
* Dwayne Palmer
* Conor Twomey
* Ronan Maher
* Willie Connors
* Stephen Cahill
* Michael Breen
* Darragh O'Donovan
* Michael O'Neill
* Cian Lynch
* Aaron Gillane
* Stephen Maher
* John Hetherton