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Old foes to meet again in Senior Doubles decider

At the start of the season not many people would have predicted that two of the legends of the 60x30 game in Kilkenny’s Ducksy Walsh and Dublin’s Eoin Kennedy would be meeting in a Senior Final. However both men will take to the stage with their Doubles partners in search of a staggering 27th and 13th Senior title respectively in the big alley in what promises to be a fascinating battle in Abbeylara on Saturday.

In fact three exciting battles look to be on the card as all three games on Saturday look set to be hard fought affairs. First up is the Minor Doubles where recently crowned Minor Singles champion Mayo’s Niall Joyce teams up with his Minor Hardball Doubles winning partner Patrick Murphy as they look to seal a Hardball/60x30 Double at Minor Doubles level. Standing in their way and looking to complete a 40x20/60x30 Double is Wexford’s Keith Armstrong and Daniel Kavanagh and a fascinating contest looks in store in what could be the game of the day.

The Intermediate Singles see’s Cavan’s James Brady take on Limerick’s Paudi Quish as both players look to join the Senior Grade in 2016. Brady who won a Junior Doubles title with Patrick Clerkin in 2013 will bid to become the first Cavan man since Michael Finnegan in 2005 to win the Intermediate title and he had a fantastic win over Wexford’s Mikey Berry (last week’s Doubles winner) which will give the Cavan man great confidence going into Saturday’s decider. Quish comes from a rich 60x30 bloodline with his uncles Tom and John having won several big alley titles and Quish himself has already won two Minor 60x30 All Ireland’s in 2012 and 2013. He defeated Martin Mulkerrins of Galway in a tough semi final and this result will see the Limerick man start as slight favourite in Saturday’s game. Write Brady off at your peril though as an intriguing battle awaits. 

The Senior showpiece will bring matters to a close and it is a relatively new pairing having been used to seeing the colours of Meath and Mayo in recent years dominate All Ireland Senior Doubles Finals. With the withdrawal due to injury of favourites Meath this year the championship was thrown wide open and the Kilkenny duo of Ducksy Walsh and Ciaran Neary took full advantage of their Leinster rivals absence in making it to the final. They defeated Limerick’s CJ Fitzpatrick and Evan Murphy in the semi final on a 21-19, 21-15 scoreline and while the Limerick youngsters tested them especially in the first game Walsh proved that even though he is closing in on 50 years of age he still has the game to mix it with the younger players. Neary provides a rock solid partner on the right and the left hander is no mean player himself having won the Intermediate Doubles title in 2012 and the duo will be quietly confident of taking home Neary’s maiden senior title and Walsh’s incredible 27th Senior Softball title on Saturday.

Dublin on the other hand had to overcome Mayo in a marathon semi final needing a third game to finally make it through to the showpiece on a 21-14, 18-21, 21-11 scoreline. Eoin Kennedy is no stranger to Senior Doubles Finals having won four titles previously with partner Egin Jensen and interestingly he has never lost a Senior Doubles final that he has played in. This time round his partner is Carl Browne who transferred to the St Brigids club in recent years from Kells in Meath and Browne provides a perfect partner on the right for Kennedy as the duo bid to capture Browne’s first title and Kennedy’s 13th big alley senior title in what has been an incredible career for the man from St Brigids. Kennedy also has the added motivation of righting the wrongs of last Saturday’s singles final when he was defeated by Westmeath’s Robbie McCarthy and this is sure to spur the Dublin man on to ensure he doesn’t taste defeat on Saturday once more.

Whoever does win on Saturday there will be one new name on the cup as both Walsh’s and Kennedy’s names have adorned the cup before. It is 30 years since Michael Ducksy Walsh won his first Senior title capturing a 60x30 Singles and Doubles clean sweep that year. It was a certain Eoin Kennedy who halted the Kilkenny mans domination of the sport with victory in 2002 beginning his own domination of the softball code. On Sunday both big alley legends and their partners will seek to add another title to already illustrious roll of honours. A cracking encounter awaits as two legends of the big court mix it with the younger generation of the game. Make sure not to miss it!

Saturday 17th October in Abbeylara, Longford.

12noon MD Final: Mayo (Niall Joyce/Patrick Murphy) v Wexford (Keith Armstrong/Daniel Kavanagh)

1.00pm IS Final: Limerick (Paudi Quish) v Cavan (James Brady)

2.00pm MSD Final: Kilkenny (Michael Ducksy Walsh/Ciaran Neary) v Dublin (Eoin Kennedy/Carl Browne)

Tickets available from the GAA Handball Office – Phone 01 8192385

Adult - €20
Students/Juveniles/OAP - €10