The most dominant Ladies Handball double act in recent times added a further trophy to their already long list of achievements as Cork duo Catriona Casey and Aishling O'Keefe captured the Myclubshop.ie 60x30 Ladies Senior Doubles title on Saturday in Croke Park Handball Centre.
Casey and O'Keefe have been one of the most successful doubles pairing to play the game and on Saturday they used every inch of their experience over their Limerick counterparts to seal the victory. It was a repeat of the 2015 final in which Cork won 21-2, 21-10 and they were in equally as dominant form on Saturday closing out a 21-12, 21-4 victory over Martina McMahon and Katie McCarthy.
Just 2 weeks previously at the same venue McMahon and Casey had met in the Singles decider with the Limerick lady claiming her first Senior Singles title so Casey was out to make amends and ensure that she didn't let the Doubles title slip from her grasp. In the first game she was at her dominant best and they opened up a 10-3 lead. Limerick showed guts and tried to close the gap with McMahon displaying glimpses of the form that brought her the singles title just weeks earlier and McCarthy showing some promise on the right. However this Cork duo are experienced and despite a brief fightback they stretched the lead to 14-9 and then 18-12 as they seized control of the first. It was only a matter of minutes before they closed out the first on a 21-12 scoreline.
If they looked confident in the first then in the second they were at their brilliant best as they showed they meant business opening a 6-1 lead with O'Keefe showing some nice touches around the front of the court. A brief rally ensued from the Limerick pair but with both Cork girls hitting form it was always going to be a tough ask and they stretched their lead with a fine run of points to 18-3 before Limerick managed to nick a point back. This was only brief respite however as the Ballydesmond pair regained serve and closed out the second 21-4 to take the game and the title back to Cork once more.
As in the singles this is shaping up to becoming quite a rivalry over the next few years with the up and coming McCarthy alongside the now current singles champion McMahon and this pairing could be around for quite a while. For now though the title once more rests on Leeside for a fourth consecutive year and with both Casey and O'Keefe only yet in their early 20's and in this type of form they will be eager for it to stay down south for the foreseeable future.