Twenty months later than scheduled, last weekend saw the conclusion of the 2020 All-Ireland 4-Wall Juvenile Finals, with the majority of Finals being played in Kingscourt HC, Cavan.
Kilkenny swept the blue ribband U14 Singles grade as Katie Brennan and Conor Doyle both put in impressive performances against Roscommon's Shauna Corrigan and Cork's Diarmuid O'Connell respectively.
Cork did however respond to take the U14 Doubles sweep, as Carmel Kelleher & Leah O'Riordan prevailed, before Cian Dunning & Tomás O'Connor sealed a gripping tiebreak win over Kilkenny. A third Doubles title went Cork's way later in the day as Evan Enright & Cathal Ducey emerged the right side of a tiebreak to win the U17 Doubles crown.
Unfortunately an injury to Galway's Mikey Kelly meant the Boys U16 Singles Finals did not take place, resulting in a walkover to the very exciting young talent that is Kyle Jordan of Kilkenny.
The Tyrone U16 Girls put in a great display to win both the Singles & Doubles Finals. Clodagh Munroe was very impressive in a dominant win over rising Galway player Emma Kinane, whilst Cloda Nic Con Midhe & Aoibhinn Daly held their nerve against a spirited Tipperary pairing to claim the U16 Doubles title in two games.
The host county Cavan had plenty to celebrate on Sunday as they took home both the U15 & U16 Boys Doubles titles, which adds fuel to their continued growth at juvenile level.
Fresh from her delayed 2020 Softball title victory last month, Roscommon's Siobhan Treacy continued her upwards trajectory by adding the U17 Singles title on Saturday, coming back from a first game loss to defeat Una Brophy (Laois) in the game of the weekend!
Fiachra O'Dúill took home the U15 Singles title to Armagh with a powerful showing against Padraic McNeela (Galway).
On Friday evening, Clare's sole representatives Fina Close & Eimear Rodgers defeated Kilkenny's Aisling Cooney & Holly Byrne in a close contest in Nenagh HC.
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- GU14S: Kilkenny (Katie Brennan) dft Roscommon (Shauna Corrigan) 15-6, 15-7
- GU14D: Cork (Carmel Kelleher/Leah O’Riordan) dft Kilkenny (Una Duggan/Holly Byrne) 15-9, 15-9
- GU15D: Clare (Fina Close/Eimear Rodgers) dft Kilkenny (Aisling Cooney/Aine Sharkey) 15-7, 15-9
- GU16S: Tyrone (Clodagh Munroe) dft Galway (Emma Kinane) 21-5, 21-6
- GU16D: Tyrone (Cloda Nic Con Midhe/Aoibhinn Daly) dft Tipperary (Hannah Grace/Leanne Gold) 21-13, 21-17
- GU17S: Roscommon (Siobhan Treacy) dft Laois (Una Brophy) 14-21, 21-17, 11-8
- GU17D: Kilkenny (Lauren Power/Nathania Jackson) dft Galway (Brona Ni Cheallachain/Orlaith Ni Churraoin) 21-8, 21-4
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- BU14S: Kilkenny (Conor Doyle) dft Cork (Diarmuid O’Connell) 15-3, 15-4
- BU14D: Cork (Cian Dunning/Tomás O’Connor) dft Kilkenny (John Hayes/Cathal Buckley) 15-9, 11-15 & 15-11
- BU15S: Armagh (Fiachra O’Duill) dft Galway (Paraic McNeela) 15-3, 15-4
- BU15D: Cavan (Niall Magee/Matthew Smith) dft Mayo (Alan Gilmartin/Darragh Sweeney) 15-7, 15-10
- BU16S: Kilkenny (Kyle Jordan) W/O Galway (Mikey Kelly) inj.
- BU16D: Cavan (Adam McKenna/Oliver McCrystal) dft Sligo (Cormac Finn/Eoin Kerrigan) 21-11, 21-17
- BU17D: Cork (Evan Enright/Cathal Ducey) dft Wexford (Ben Keeling/Conor Dobbs) 21-6, 12-21 & 11-1
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Full selection of photos available on GAA Handball Facebook page.