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The Sport of Handball

GAA Handball is the governing body and organisational branch of Handball within the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) responsible for managing, promoting, and developing all forms of Irish handball. It oversees four main codes of the sport and supports both national and international competition. 

Fast... skilful... fun! 

Handball is a fast-paced, highly skilful, hugely entertaining, and fully inclusive sport. The fitness benefits of the game are vast. Speed, agility, endurance, flexibility, and bilateral coordination all come in to play in the sport that once you play for the first time, you won’t ever want to stop. But what makes this game so great is that all you require to play is a ball and a wall….it’s really that simple… 

In Ireland, there are four codes of Handball: 4-Wall, Wallball, 60×30 (Softball and Hardball). The 4-Wall and Wallball codes are the two international codes, whilst the 60×30 codes are traditional Irish games. Having such a variety of codes is great in the sense that there are Handball competitions all year round, providing increasing number of playing opportunities for players. 

The primary aim of any Handball match is to make the ball hit the front wall and bounce twice before your opponent can return it. What varies between the four codes is a) the number of walls in the court, b) the size of the court, & c) the type of ball used. 

Handball can be played in Singles (1v1) and Doubles (2v2), with All-Ireland Championships in both Singles and Doubles in all our codes. Whilst the skills of top quality handballers are transferrable, there are unique differences between not only playing singles and doubles, but also between playing the different codes. 

4-Wall (40x20/small alley) 

Currently the most popular version of Handball in Ireland, it is played in an indoor facility enclosed with four walls and a roof, like a squash or racquetball court (Dimensions: 40ft by 20ft). The game requires players to wear gloves and eye-guards as the handball used is a small rubber ball and can travel at speeds up to 100mph. 

Softball (60x30/big alley)

The ‘Big Alley’ or ‘Softball’ game is widely regarded as the traditional Handball code to Ireland, and like 4-Wall, it gets its name by the dimensions of its indoor court (60ft by 30ft). The ball used is much bigger than the small alley handball, and therefore gloves and eye-guards are not compulsory, while it is advised to wear them at all times. The game is generally played in the summer months, since traditionally the game was played in an outdoor court, before new roofed indoor alleys were erected during the latter half of the 20th Century.

WallBall (1-Wall)

Wall Handball is the most fundamental form of handball as it requires only a wall and a ball. It is without doubt the fastest growing code of handball, with numbers playing growing substantially in the last ten years. Due to its simplicity, it can be played indoor or outdoor. The front wall has dimensions 20ft by 16ft. This code is played all over the world, including Europe, Asia, US and Australia 

Hardball

Hardball is the most ancient of our games in Ireland, and it is also played in the 60×30 court. As the name suggests, the ball used is small and hard and is made by hand from cork and leather. The ball can reach speeds of over 100mph.