The Draws for the GAA Higher Education Championships were made today, with University of Galway, ATU Galway and ATU Connemara learning their 2026 Championship opponents.
In the Sigerson Cup, ATU Galway will be away to UCD in Round 1. Should ATU Galway win their opening game, they would face the winners of St. Mary's v Maynooth in Round 2, while if they lose that clash with UCD, they would face the losers of that game.
University of Galway will be away to Queen's University in Round 1. If University of Galway defeats Queen's University, they would face the winners of ATU Sligo v UCC in Round 2, while if they lose to UCD, they will play the losers of that fixture.
Wins in the first two rounds mean automatic qualification for the quarter finals, while a defeat in one of the two games means consignment to a quarter-final playoff. Round 1 fixtures will be played on the 6th/7th of January.
In the Fitzgibbon Cup, University of Galway were drawn in Group C with UCD and TUS Midwest. University of Galway will host UCD in Round 1 on the 7th/8th of January, before having a bye in Round 2. In Round 3 the University will be away to TUS Midwest on the 21st/22nd of January. Should they finish first or second in the group, they will play a quarter final against the opposite opponent in Group D, which includes ATU Galway, Mary Immaculate College and SETU Waterford. i.e if UG 1st in Group C and Mary I 2nd in Group D, that will be the quarter final pairing.
ATU Galway will have a Bye in Round 1, they will be away to SETU Waterford in Round 2 on the 14th/15th of January and at home to Mary Immaculate College in Round 3 on the 21st/22nd January.
Two teams will be relegated from the Fitzgibbon Cup in 2026. This will create a new six-team Tier Two competition in 2027 containing the two relegated teams from Fitzgibbon in 2026 and the four semi-finalists in the Ryan Cup 2026.
After the group stages, the bottom team in each Fitzgibbon group will play off in one Relegation game. The loser of both of these matches will be relegated to the new competition for the 2026/27 season.
In the Fergal Maher Cup, the third-tier hurling competition, ATU Connemara have been drawn in Group A with Ulster University Coleraine/Magee, ATU Sligo and ATU Donegal. ATU Connemara will travel to ATU Sligo in Round 1 on January 14th. In Round 2, they will also be away to Ulster University Coleraine/Magee, and in Round 3, they will be at home to ATU Donegal. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winner of Group A facing the runners-up of Group B and vice versa. Group B contains TUD Tallaght, RCSI, Marino and Dundalk IT.
In the Corn Comhairle Ardoideachas, the third-tier football competition, ATU Connemara have been drawn in Group 2 alongside Monaghan Institute, Southern Regional College and North West Regional College. In Round 1, ATU Connemara will host North West Regional College on January 22nd. In Round 2, they will travel to Monaghan Institute before a Round 3 home tie with Southern Regional College. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners of Group 1 facing the runners-up of Group 2 and vice versa. Group 1 consists of The Law School, City of Dublin Further Education, TUD Tallaght and Drogheda Institute of Further Education.
In the Intermediate Football Championship, University of Galway received a bye into the quarter finals. They travel to the winners of Ulster University of ATU Sligo on January 29th. Should they win that quarter-final, they will face the winners of the meeting between TU Dublin and MTU Cork.
In the Junior Football Championship, both University of Galway and ATU Galway have been drawn in Group A alongside ATU Sligo and University of Limerick's 2nd junior team. ATU Galway will host University of Round 1 on February 10th. In round 2, ATU travel to ATU Sligo as University of Galway hosts UL 2. And in Round 3, University of Galway hosts ATU Sligo as ATU Galway hosts UL 2. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter finals, with the winners of Group A facing the runners-up in Group D and vice versa. Group D contains Ulster University, Queen's University and Dundalk IT.
In the Intermediate Hurling Championship, University of Galway will face University of Limerick's 2nd team in Round 1, the week commencing January 12th. The winner of that clash will face the winner of University of Limerick or UCC Round 2, with the loser facing the losers of the same tie. Winning the first two rounds means automatic qualification for the semi-finals, while losing one of the two rounds means entry into the quarter-finals.
In the Junior Hurling Championship, University of Galway and ATU Galway have both been drawn in Group B with Mary Immaculate College and MTU Cork. In Round 1, ATU Galway will host University of Galway on February 4th. Round 2 will see University of Galway host MTU Cork and Mary Immaculate College host ATU Galway. In Round 3, University of Galway will travel to Mary Immaculate College, and MTU Cork will entertain ATU Galway. The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarter finals, with the winner of Group B facing the runners-up in Group D and vice versa. Group D contains TUD Tallaght, Trinity College Dublin, Queen's University and UCD.
In the Freshers' 1 Football Championship, University of Galway and ATU Galway have been drawn together in Group C with ATU Sligo and TUS Midlands. Round 1 will take place on January 8th and will see ATU Sligo host ATU Galway, and University of Galway go to TUS Midlands. In Round 2, ATU Galway hosts University of Galway and in Round 3, University of Galway host ATU Sligo while ATU Galway travel to TUS Midlands. The top two teams in the group advance to the quarter-finals, with the winner of Group C facing the runner-up of Group B and vice versa. Group B consists of Queen's University, Ulster University and Dundalk IT.
In the Freshers B Football Championship, University of Galway has been drawn in Group D with DCU's 2nd team and ATU Sligo. In Round 1 University of Galway will host DCU 2 on February 2nd. University of Galway will return to action in Round 3 when they travel to ATU Sligo. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter finals, where the winners of Group D will play the runner-up of Group C, and vice versa. Group C contains Ulster University, Queen's University and UCD.
In the Fresher 1 Hurling Championship, ATU Galway have been drawn in Group A with UCD, DCU and Maynooth. ATU Galway will host UCD in Round 1 on January 21st. They will travel to Maynooth in Round 2 before hosting DCU in Round 3.
University of Galway will be in Group B with University of Limerick, TUS Midwest and Mary Immaculate College. In Round 1, University of Galway will host Mary Immaculate College on January 21st. In Round 2 they'll go away to TUS Midwest before a final round trip to University of Limerick.
Group winners in Group A and Group B will automatically progress to the semi-finals. The runners-up in those groups, along with first and second in Group C (containing MTU Cork, UCC and SETU Waterford), will go into the quarter finals, where an open draw will be held. Group C winners will have home advantage.
In the Freshers B B Hurling Championship, University of Galway have been drawn in Group A with UCD, DCU and DCU's 2nd Team. University of Galway will host UCD in Round 1 on January 22nd. They host DCU 2 in Round 2 before making the trip to North Dublin to take on DCU in the final round. The top two will proceed to the semi-finals alongside the winners of Group B (SETU Waterford, UCC and UL 2) and Group C (UL, TUS Midwest and MTU Cork).
