On Wednesday, March 4th, Fermoy Handball Club played host to the 5th edition of the Defence Forces 40x20 Handball Championships. This year, Defence Forces Handball has begun to see the fruits of five years of hard work and effort by players and facilitators alike when the Championships was graded for the first time (Novice, Junior, Intermediate & Senior) and with every game of the 29 played being fought to the last by all handballers!
This was also the year where new names would be added to the "Halla na nÓglaigh" in all championships categories.
All games were tournament format and timed, except for Senior games (Irish format), Intermediate & Junior finals (first to 21 aces) of 15 minutes or first to score 21 aces, with first round players going into a runners up plate to get the most games on the day.
In the Novice Category, Pte Mark Laffin (the new 1 Brigade Champion as of last Wednesday) was pipped to the post in the Semi-Final by his teammate and eventual runner up Pte Dylan Waugh. Unfortunately for Waugh, he met the might of S/S Paddy McKernon who travelled from west of the Shannon for a reason today, and that was to take gold back to Galway in the form of the Novice Champions Medal after 17-12 hand out after hand out and rally after rally thriller!
In the Junior Championship, the current Defence Forces One-Wall & new 2 Brigade 40x20 Champion (as of two weeks ago), Sgt Glen O'Kelly charged his way to the final and victory scoring one-sided wins over Pte Kieth Mullaney & Pte Tomás Dunne, with Dunne enduring a 20 minute hammering ending up 21-9 in the final.
The new Intermediate category saw a tightly matched a fought out contest, the likes of which has never occurred in the modern history of Defence Forces handball. 7 players of even standing fought it out from the first round to the final in both Championship and plate, with no ace being left to waste. The first round saw results of S/S Dave McConn losing in a tie breaker (first to 2 aces after time-up) 13-13 (2-1) to Pte Denis "Pancho" Dowd who announced his return to Defence Forces handball with a bang. Next saw Tpr Stephen Smullen show S/S Joe Doherty that being out of the alley for a while doesn't necessarily mean the skill set is lost and delivered a 21-11 beating on him to that effect. S/S Ciaran Gallen got a tough draw when he met Cpl Eddie Clifford in a 10-17 game that proved to be an eye-catcher for all spectators, with Pte JJ Hennessey being the lucky one with a bye into the Semis.
The Intermediate plate was played out with S/S Ciaran Gallen salvaging a minor victory for the men of the west in a 14-7 win over S/S Joe Doherty.
In the Intermediate Semis, Dowd finally ran out of steam and suffered another lesson dished out by Smullen in a 20-7 battle, with the other Semi seeing Hennessey enter the fray against Clifford. This match was to prove one of the highlights of the day over all and ended up with a 15-10 score line to Hennessey.
The Intermediate final was where the "Teacher" Smullen met his match and in a game that went hand for hand both players left nothing behind on the court, only skid marks on the front wall from the numerous kill shots expertly issued by both men in a 21-17 win going to Hennessey.
The Senior Championship was what everyone came to see, with the current Defence Forces Doubles Champion and Irish Number 1 O/Rec Robbie McCarthy Jr entering the court for the second time in his short military career. The hotly tipped Mullingar didn't hold back from the start in his Semi Final against Pte Kirk Greene of O'Loughlins fame. Greene was both composed and confident in all of his attempts throughout the two games, but was shown no mercy by the current Irish 40x20 Champion in a 21-3, 21-2 match of precision kills and perfect serves by both men.
The senior final was where McCarthy had to face the three time Defence Forces champion in the form of Pte Colm Jordan. Jordan, although returning to the alley after an absence was fired up and ready. Jordan also had local support from club members of the oldest handball club in the world to back him up in every hand of a game that lasted 35 minutes. This game of giants saw the ball travelling as low as possible to the ground at every oppurtunity and travelling with a louder thud off the wall from both players on each shot, bringing excitement and delight to the spectators who filled the gallery from top to bottom. But McCarthy showed that he hadn't come to Fermoy to make friends and hit the home player for 21-4, 21-3 to claim his second of the three Defence Forces Handball titles and take it back to the Island for the Naval Service.
The day was presided over by Lt Emma Stanley, who issued the prizes to all who had come south and conquered.
Many thanks must also go to Mr Michael Jordan, who spared no effort in making the troops feel right at home for the day and offering sage advice to younger players keen to improve their game at every chance.
The Defence Forces will no retreat to prepare for the annual Defence Forces v Gardaí Challenge match in Collooney Handball Club on March 26th in the 4th edition of this annual battle of the forces!
If you are interested in playing handball (40x20 or One-Wall), please contact your BPEO or Sáir Eric O'Brien at extension 1840.
Report by Sáir Eric O'Brien Photos by A/B David Jones