The first competitive 3 wall tournament in Ireland recently took place in An Mhodhscoil, Limerick City which drew players from the four provinces of the country. Players were excited at the unique chance to try their hand at what is traditionally seen as an American version of the game. Most Irish players only get the chance to play 3 wall handball when they visit the US and rarely get the chance to play handball outdoors in Ireland either. The event therefore offered players a variety of new experiences and there was widespread excitement leading up to the event. The outdoor courts added to the excitement as several bypassers entered the school during the event to watch the thrilling games unfolding on a rare day when the Irish weather also decided to shine.
The tournament employed a group format to ensure all teams had the chance to play several games in the 3 wall courts. Division 1 was filled with talent including U17 One Wall National Champion Tadhg O Neill, EDTL Handball star Fergal Coughlan, current U21 60x30 champion Paudi Quish and U21 60x30 doubles champions Daniel Relihan and Michael Hedigan.
The high quality field produced some exhilarating handball and following numerous tense hard fought games three teams finished on equal points as they all suffered a defeat. Fergal Coughlan Jnr and Tadhg O’Neill were dominant during the group stage and topped the group after racking up some high scores despite losing to Paudi Quish and Michael Whelan. Fergal Coughlan Snr and Ken O Neill produced some clever performances to overcome some more youthful opponents but were outfoxed by their sons in the group stage. Heading into their final game Coughlan Snr and O’Neill had to win by 13 aces to improve their scoring difference enough to overtake Quish and Whelan in 2nd place in the group. A tense game followed but the experienced duo could not secure enough aces and missed out on a final spot by 4 aces.
Quish/Whelan and Coughlan Jnr/O’Neill went tit for tat in the early part of the final with several changes of serve and numerous 10+ shot rallies as aces were hard to come by. Quish/Whelan slowly imposed themselves on the game with Quish’s lightning quick reactions and a readiness to adapt their tactics and took the first game 15-12. Quish/Whelan flew out of the blocks in the second game to build up a 5-0 lead thanks to some impressive kills from Whelan and although Coughlan Jnr/O’Neill made a fightback it was not enough as they fell 15-8.
Division 2 appeared to be similarly tight with several equally balanced teams taking to the court. However, the Northern pairing of Brian Reilly and Peter Harte adapted to the 3 wall courts the quickest and claimed top spot in the group stage with four convincing wins. Three teams battled for the 2nd spot with Mike and Eimhin Dillon eventually confirming their spot in the final as they narrowly pipped Donal and Bríd Horgan in their game. The final was a see-saw affair with Eimhin Dillon laying claim to the MVP title in the first game with several astounding kills in a 15-6 win. However, the father-son combination could not match Reilly’s power in the second game and lost 15-12 to send the game to a tiebreaker. All four players increased the intensity in the final game and every rally was ended only with an astounding kill shot or re-kill. Eimhin rediscovered his first game form and this, paired with Mike’s athleticism slowly wrestled the advantage back from Reilly/Harte and the Dillon family claimed the Division 2 title with a 11-6 tiebreaker win.
Many thanks to everyone who attended the tournament and helped with organising and running the event. Thanks to EDTL handball for sponsoring the handballs for the tournament and An Mhodhscoil for allowing us to use their fantastic facilities for the tournament. It was a great day with all players immensely enjoying the inaugural 3 wall tournament in the Limerick venue.
The Limerick Metropolitan Handball Series was also unveiled at the tournament. The Series consists of several tournaments across all codes of handball including 60x30, 40x20, 3 wall and 1 wall with singles, doubles and team events taking place throughout the year. The next event in the Series takes place on 15th August with the 3 wall Singles tournament.