The first handball tournament of the summer season in Ulster took place at Virginia HC last Saturday.
Twenty-six players, both local and from around the country, descended on the Cavan club for a hectic day of doubles action, sponsored by Kill Shot Handball Gloves.
Pride of place in the Open Doubles went to Cavan's James Brady and Offaly's David Hope who saw off Tipperary duo Ger Coonan and Declan Gleeson in an excellent final.
In the A Doubles, Offaly's Cathal McNamee and Declan Kilmurray took top honours, defeating the Kingscourt-St Pat's combination of Niall McMahon and Eddie Halligan – making a welcome return to the fray – in the decider.
All matches were well-contested. The Tipperary men defeated Carl Browne and Paul Fitzpatrick 21-20 in the semi-final of the Open, with Brady and Hope defeating Tyrone's Sean Kerr and Barry Devlin 21-15.
Among the strong local performers were Kingscourt pair Conor Owens and Cormac McMahon, who played very well in the group stages, with Owens, who recently made the All-Ireland Junior B doubles final in the 40x20 court, standing out.
Kells men Peter Reilly and Joe Cummins also played their part in an exciting group stage.
In the A Doubles, brothers Paddy and Owen O'Reilly came close to making the final while Charles Farrelly and Colum Brady from the host club and Vincent Mulvey and Peter McCabe also performed well.
Trophies were presented by Charles Farrelly of Virginia HC.
Next up on the local scene will be a Wallball tournament in the coming weeks followed by another 60x30 event in July.
The club would like to thank all the players who took part and refereed.
Results
Open final: David Hope/James Brady dft Ger Coonan/Declan Gleeson 21-17
A final: Cathal McNamee/Declan Kilmurray dft Eddie Halligan/Niall McMahon 21-7
