In the build up to the staple event of the Ladies Senior Singles Championship, the 2018 O’Neills 40x20 All-Ireland Senior Singles Final, GAA Handball spoke with Cork’s Catriona Casey.
After a brief congratulation on her Semi-Final success over Kilkenny’s Ciara Mahon (21-1, 21-0), Casey is humble in her acknowledgement. Reiterating her sentiments in her post Semi-Final encounter interview, she notes again that the score line does not reflect the game. She is still happy with her overall performance, but, like a true champion, she still has areas that she wants to improve on for the big event.
However, one would assume that such a win must have a positive effect on her confidence moving forward to an All-Ireland Final. Dismissing this regard, Casey is adamant that she treats each game as a new occasion. She mentions that McMahon is a great player and that she will have to play to the best of her ability to overcome the challenge before her as;
Past encounters will count for nothing.
On that note, Casey and McMahon have now faced each other numerous times in all codes of Handball. For the majority of these, Casey has come out the champion. Surely the pressure is on the Ballydesmond star’s shoulders to perform on this occasion. With a cool head and a glimmer in her eye, Casey states that there is going to be pressure in any major final, regardless, however, her intention is to channel that pressure positively. She continues by saying that both players have learned from each other in the past and know what to expect, it will just come down to who performs on the day.
Casey has proved that she is more than capable of performing when it counts, having appeared in a Senior Singles All-Ireland final 5 times, and winning 3 of those. Surely Court 1 in Kingscourt HC, must feel like a home alley for the Cork native at this point. Astute in her observations, she remarks that she has not played there since last year’s Championship and as McMahon has centre stage experience they will both have a level playing field. Casey does follow by saying;
It’s a very true court in a fabulous facility and I very much look forward to being back on Court 1 for Finals day.
Moving to what lies beyond All-Ireland glory, this year’s extra incentive of Team Ireland Captaincy, GAA Handball asked the reigning All-Ireland champ if she was including this aspect in her mental preparations for the feat that lies before her. Again, with a steely resoluteness in her voice, she answered simply that it is an ‘extra bonus’. Noting that whatever way the chips may fall, she will be travelling to Minnesota to compete, but, it would be an honour to represent Team Ireland in the process.
Finally, to reach the almost dizzying height of success that Casey has already achieved at her young age – GAA Handball was eager to find out what Handball means to the Corkonian, her answer was no less than you’d expect;
Handball is my passion; I love to watch it and I love to play it.
Adding that she has put a lot in to the sport at this point, but has also gotten so much back; close friendships, exciting opportunities and most importantly, life lessons about the importance of discipline and resilience. She concludes the interview by stating that she hopes to be involved in Handball for a long time to come, and is very grateful to all who have helped her along the way.
We all indeed look forward to what is sure to be an electric encounter between Cork’s Catriona Casey and Limerick’ Martina McMahon. Coverage will start from 3:30pm on GAA Handball’s Facebook page, for those of you lucky enough to be making the trip to Kingscourt HC, Cavan, make sure to pre-order your tickets by clicking the button below:
#Roadtokingscourt