Handball's brightest young stars shine

By Paul Fitzpatrick

Handball’s brightest young stars shine at Junior Nationals

The best young handballers in Ireland descended on Cavan and Monaghan last weekend for the Irish 4-Wall Junior Nationals, which attracted an impressive entry of 276 players.

Grades on offer were 11&U, 13&U, 15&U, 17&U and 19&U, all singles, with male and female competitions across the age groups. The 11&U grade was run as a fun event, allowing younger children to experience playing in a national tournament on a busy weekend of action.

The headquarters for the tournament was the three-court complex in Kingscourt, which hosted the semi-finals and finals on Sunday, with several hundred parents, coaches, players and supporters in attendance, as well as GAA Handball President Kevin Cooke.

Matches began on Friday evening and ran right through until Sunday, with venues utilised across Cavan and Monaghan. Such was the number of games that the organisers also used Kells in Co Meath and Breacach in Co Tyrone.

Munterconnaught Handball Club, which now boasts over 40 juvenile members and has recently been fitted with a new heating system, hosted matches on Friday evening and Saturday. Friday's games were the first national fixtures staged at the venue, which is close to the Cavan-Meath border.

Monaghan Harps, Bawn, Corduff and St. Mellan's were also used in Monaghan, with club officers on hand to assist with refereeing and the smooth running of the event.

The standard of play was high across the board, with several closely contested finals providing plenty of excitement for the large attendance in Kingscourt on Sunday.

Among the most dramatic deciders was the Boys' 17&U Final involving Shane Doyle of Windgap and Aaron McElhone of Carrickmore. The Kilkenny lad came through an absorbing contest in a tiebreaker, winning 9-15, 15-13, 11-3 after losing the opening game.

There was another tight encounter in the 15&U Singles between Charlie Roche of Castlebridge, Co Wexford and Maxim Gilmartin of Annaduff in Leitrim, with Roche edging two closely-fought games on scores of 15-13, 15-8.

In the Boys 13&U Singles, Paddy Byrne of Ferns St. Aidan's in Wexford also emerged victorious following a competitive final against Kerrill Hynes of Claregalway. Byrne claimed the opening game 15-7 before being pushed all the way in the second, which he won 15-13.

MacDara Ó Grádaigh from Micheal Breathnachs in Galway defeated Sean Considine from Clooney-Quin in Clare 15-2, 2-15, 11-8 in the 19&U Final.

In the girls' competitions, Laura Duff of Loughmacrory was involved in one of the weekend's most exciting finals against Claire Minogue of Tuamgraney.

Duff took the opening game 15-14 before Minogue responded to win the second by the same margin. The Tyrone player then held her nerve in the tie-break, coming through 8-5 to claim the title after a thrilling contest.

The decorated Nina McBride of St. Gall's was another impressive winner, overcoming Anna Madden of Tuamgraney in straight games, 15-9, 15-7, in the Girls 15&U final.

In the Girls 17&U Singles final, Ciara O'Reilly of St Brigid's, Dublin, claimed the title with an 15-11, 15-2 victory over Tyrone’s Kayleigh McCoole (Breacach).

The Girls 13&U Singles final also produced a high-quality contest, with Alisha Farrell of Kilfane, Kilkenny, defeating Isla Fox of Bofield, Co Mayo on a 15-4, 15-9 scoreline.

While the action on court was the main attraction, staging a tournament of this scale was also a considerable logistical undertaking. The organising committee and volunteers at each of the venues ensured that fixtures ran smoothly, with all courts ahead of time on each of the days.

The committee did an excellent job, with matches running on time throughout the weekend and results co-ordinated online by Ulster Handball official Catherine Finnegan.