The Julie Long annual memorial tournament took place last weekend in St. Bridget G.A.A club on the Navan road. The tournament takes place every year in honour of the late Julie Long and remembers Julie who was an outstanding Handballer who won National and International titles at both juvenile and senior level. This was the 5th year of the tournament in which we had the biggest number of entries and the highest standard of handball. 

As with all years the event was well supported by Leixlip handball club and they embraced the spirit of the tournament as usual. A couple of no shows could have meant a late start to the matches but Aine O’Keefe and Soairse Sunderland played a blinder of back to back matches to keep us on track. Hannah and Kate Dagg had a bit of a dramatic journey to make it to the event but it was worth all of Paula’s effort to get them there because they impressed all with their handball skills once they stepped into the alley.

St Brigid’s were well represented this year with Noel Mulryan making it to the semi-finals only to fall to the eventual winners and a big effort was made by some people who had to make long journeys to make sure they could be there on the day. Peter Mulryan travelled up from the West of Ireland and while his partnership with Audrey McCormack was getting better with each match, their participation ended in the semi-final of the plate. Marguerite Gore came up from Wexford to partner the great John Molloy. Darren Flynn showed some great skill and was unlucky to be in the ‘group of Death’ and unfortunately didn’t proceed passed the group stages. The new comers to the tournament were from O’Tooles Handball club. Ken Shannon and Liam Sherwin proved great partners throughout the day. Una Wrynn and Jim Leen put up a great fight in the Semi-final of the plate but narrowly missed out on going forward to the final. John O’Donoghue who was part of St. Brigid’s during Julie’s time also made a welcome guest appearance from Luxembourg. Julie’s husband Gary formed a partnership with Laura Keaver another great supporter of the event. Gary approached of all his matches with his usual enthusiasm and humour so Laura’s skills of patience as well as Handball were evident on the day!

A great spread of food and drinks for the tournament was catered for by Joanne McAndrew to make sure that the players had sustenance to keep them going throughout the day 

Jonathan Westlake was a new-comer from St-Brigids this year and his partnership with Hannah Dagg was the surprise package. They made it to the plate final against Terry Spence and Tracy Hutchinson. It was a great final and a nail biter to the end. Both teams stayed close in points with final score being 17-16 to Terry and Tracey. 

The main final event saw Maria McCarthy and Conor O’Connor playing the great Anna Wrynn and John Farrell, another new-comer from O’Toole’s who displayed some great skills. The final was a great way to end a brilliant day. The final game saw some fantastic talent and skilful players taking to the court. Anna and John had formed an excellent partnership throughout the day and Anna displayed her usual excellence on the court but Maria’s steady support to some outstanding play from Conor proved too strong for them and they went on to take the winner’s trophy. On the day we also presented Player of the tournament going to Terry Spence. Terry played outstandingly and contributed in great lengths to the tournament itself. Julie’s mam and dad were both on hand to present the cup and thank all who were involved  and who took part in the tournament. A great day was had by all and we hope to welcome them all back again next year.

submitted by PRO.