Report by Paul Fitzpatrick
The ninth annual Cavan 40x20 Championships took place at Kingscourt last weekend – and once again, the cream rose to the top.
The burgeoning strength in depth of the sport in the county was evident from the fact that four clubs – Kingscourt, St Pat’s, Munterconnaught and Virginia – were represented in Sunday’s finals, with three clubs winning titles. Pride of place went to four-in-a-row winner Paul Brady, who saw off local favourite Michael Finnegan 21-14, 21-7 in a high standard Senior Singles final. Both men wowed the crowd with some tremendous rallying, with Brady’s clinical serving and awesome re-killing ability in the front court the difference as he ran out the winner. Paul Fitzpatrick defeated Cormac McMahon in the Senior Singles third place play-off.
Meanwhile, dual stars Joe Dillon Jr and Stephen Smith fought out an excellent battle in the Junior A Singles final. Three-time Ulster U21 football medallist Dillon – currently a member of the Cavan senior panel – came through 21-15, 11-21, 11-7 against Cavan minor footballer Stephen Smith from Crosserlough. With county football training commitments over the weekend, both men were jaded by the time the final came around but put on an excellent spectacle. Smith’s killing in the right corner, often from deep in the court, was a highlight but Dillon – a former Ulster U14 handball and Irish senior racquetball champion – was steady in the tiebreaker and out-lasted his younger opponent for a popular win. Hopes are high that Joe will make a big impact in the Ulster Championships in the New Year; Stephen, who won the Ulster U17 title last year, moves up to the minor grade where he is well capable of mixing it in very good company.
Out of luck in the Junior grade were three other local footballers, Belturbet minor goalkeeper Caolán Smith (who ran Dillon to a tiebreaker), Ballyhaise defender Shane Briody and Kildallan’s Cathal Sheridan. The Junior B grade was, as always, the most competitive of the weekend. And, in the end, new boys Munterconnaught were the ones celebrating as two of their stand-out players, ‘the man in the cap’ Peter McCabe and Knocktemple NS principal Vincent Mulvey, advanced from the 16-strong field to make the decider. The super-fit McCabe had come through a tiebreaker against Gary Byrne in the semis and he was forced to pull out all the stops in the decider against clubmate Mulvey, dropping the first game before storming back to win in an outstanding battle between two fine players who have clearly worked hard in the fantastic new court at Munterconnaught. The underage grades featured strong turnouts from St Pat’s, Kingscourt, Virginia and Mullagh, where Fr John Gilhooly is spearheading a juvenile programme.
The U16 title went to last year’s U14 winner Conor Owens. The powerful right-hander played his best stuff as he saw off clubmate Adam Crosbie. Adam, also a talented footballer, has improved greatly over the last 12 months and impressed over the weekend but Sunday was Conor’s day as he turned on the style with a very good performance.
At U14 level, friendly rivals Emmett Boylan (St Pat’s) and Diego Di Folco (Kingscourt) clashed again in the county final. The pair have played a number of close games in recent years but on this occasion left-hander Boylan came out on top. He turned in a very impressive performance against a powerful opponent. Diego served well and looked to keep the ball away from Boylan’s blistering left hand but Emmett, who is a stand-out forward at underage level with Crosserlough and St Pat’s, was too sharp and came out on top in a very good match. The semi-finalists in this grade were Drumlane lad Darren McGurren, who showed great promise, and improving Kingscourt player Niall McMahon, who is still eligible for the U14 grade next year.
The U12 grade showcased some of the best players from Mullagh, Virginia and Kingscourt. Oisin Byrne, who represented Cavan in the Ulster U12 Singles competition earlier this year, saw off the talented Matthew Smith of Virginia in the decider. Both boys played some sparkling handball over the weekend. Oisin’s experience and craft saw him win the day but Matthew also impressed, showing the skills he has learned in Virginia under the tutelage of principal Peadar Quealy. In the last four of this grade were Mullagh players Antonio Ignat and Dara Martin.
PIC: World champion Paul Brady with U12 winner Oisin Byrne and runner-up Matthew Smith.