Nicknames are part and parcel of GAA culture and Mary I's Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup team is no different.
Mary I won their third Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup last year by defeating cross-city rivals UL in the final, with two of Mary I's star players aiming for more glory again this year.
'The Hog' Adam Hogan played a key role in defence for the Limerick teacher training college while 'The Bull' Shane O'Brien led the way up front.
Jamie Wall's side begin the defence of their title next Wednesday against ATU Galway, with UL and SETU Waterford making up the group of four. The top two teams in the group stage will advance to the knock-out stages ahead of the February finale.
O'Brien and Hogan were speaking at the launch of the competition when they discussed their respective nicknames.
Limerick star O'Brien says his parents christened the nickname based on a photo from a family wedding.
"That came from the parents," The Electric Ireland ambassador said.
"There was a photo from a family wedding, I only saw it a couple of weeks ago but I was about six weeks old at the time. My brother Dylan was three years older than me but I was actually bigger than him," He laughs.
"So that's where it came from, from my parents.
"A few of the lads in Kilmallock got wind of it then. Donovan got wind of it then as well and it went viral so I can blame him for that!"
The Bull made a breakthrough onto the Limerick team last year, scoring 0-2 in the Munster final in Seamus Flanagan's absence before making an impact off the bench in their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Cork, scoring 0-2 again.
'The Hog' meanwhile, became a fixture on the Clare team during his year of years, but he'd prefer if the nickname didn't stick.
"The Hog is obviously short for Hogan," he says. "a bit shorter than Hogan.
"My brother is called 'Hog,' that's his nickname and I don't want to steal his thunder so I'll keep it to Adam for the time being!"
Pictured are college teammates and intercounty rivals, Adam Hogan (Mary Immaculate College and Clare) and Shane O’Brien (Mary Immaculate College and Limerick), as Electric Ireland teams up with six inter-county Camogie and GAA stars to look ahead to the upcoming matches and rivalries across the Electric Ireland Camogie Third Level Championships and the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships. Through its #FirstClassRivals campaign, Electric Ireland will continue to celebrate the unique alliances that form between county rivals as they come together in pursuit of some of the most coveted titles across Camogie and GAA.
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
