GAA Handball is delighted to announce that the Irish Handball Alley website created by Áine Ryan has been relaunched. It’s available to everyone with an interest in these wonderful old structures that our game of handball has been enjoyed by so many over the years.
There are many stories and historical pieces attached to many of the photographs, which means it is a great resource. It is important to record as many as possible with so many of them demolished in recent years.
Some excellent examples include Ballymore Eustace and the excellent detailed history written by Matt Purcell. Attached to the Ballyshannon alley photo, there is a poem. These are just a couple of the many interesting stories that can be found on the website.
This website was created as part of a research project into the architectural and cultural value of the Irish Handball Alley - initiated and undertaken by architect Áine Ryan, with support from the Heritage Council of Ireland in 2008 and 2009 under the Architecture Research Grants Scheme, and from the Thomas Dammann Junior Memorial Trust in 2011.
There is now a new appeal for the handball community and members of the public to send in photos of where alleys are or were they were, that are not currently listed on the site. References to information in books and local histories are also welcomed. Please send to irishhandballalley@gmail.com
Members of the public can also post a comment under each alley to update a little information or provide more information.