Ciara Mahon’s status as one of the elite ladies handballers, particularly in the 60x30 code, has been growing year on year and last Saturday marked another breakthrough for the Kilkenny woman when she qualified for her first All-Ireland Senior Singles final.
The Dublin-based PhD student picked up an eye-catching win over Westmeath’s Aoife McCarthy – who herself had recorded a stunning upset against Catriona Casey of Cork – in last Saturday’s semi-final and while she goes into the decider as underdog against reigning champion Martina McMahon, it’s a challenge she is embracing.
Mahon has faced adversity at times in the championship to date and coming through difficult matches against quality opponents has given her confidence and belief ahead of the biggest singles match of her career.
“It has been an interesting Championship for sure and shows that anything can happen on a day,” the Clogh player told GAAHandball.ie.
“I have had a lot of challenging games in this championship, narrowly overcoming Pauline Gallagher in the quarter-final and then overcoming Aoife in a tough game in the semi-final.
“Both of these experiences I feel have helped me become more confident in my game. I am very much looking forward to playing Martina and am not fazed by my underdog status.”
In this most unusual year, Ciara found herself relocating home and that has done her handball no harm at all. Nearing the completion of her doctorate, she juggles the sport with her studies and has found a nice balance in that regard, too.
“I am not quite finished yet - I am hoping to complete my PhD in the next few weeks, so it has been a busy/intense time for me in that respect, but I find that handball provides a great break from the studies and a bit of headspace.
“It is not always easy to fit in training with the demands of the PhD but I do prioritise exercise in my day as I find that they complement each other - I am more productive at work when I exercise.
“I moved home to Kilkenny during the lockdown, so I trained in my home court in Clogh when it re-opened and did fitness workouts from home. I have mostly gone to the alley myself or with my dad to do skills sessions, and have trained with my doubles partner Aoife Holden and with fellow club mates William Love, Kyle Dunne and my brother, Brian Mahon.
“I try to get in a variety of skills sessions, games and fitness sessions throughout a week.”
A keen runner, she also returned to hockey recently, a sport she played to inter-provincial level in the past.
“I had not played hockey in about five to six years and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this sport and regaining a sense of camaraderie and team spirit,” she said.
Saturday’s final is likely to produce an intriguing clash of styles; McMahon is a shooter, Mahon a retriever who prides herself on persistence and chasing down every ball.
Her plan, she says, is “keep the intensity high, chase each ball and to go for my shots”.
Coming from a traditional ‘big alley’ stronghold in north Kilkenny, Mahon is very comfortable in the big court.
“I have always preferred 60x30 over other codes; I like the open space, the style of play e.g. winding up for shots, use of the underarm and “meeting the ball” – nothing is as satisfying as connecting on a kill shot in the 60x30.”
Having reached two Senior Doubles finals, she doesn’t feel nerves will trip her up on Saturday either.
“Absolutely, experience always helps especially on these big occasions to be less fazed by the occasion and to know what to expect on the day.”
Having spoken in the past about the need to promote equality between male and female sport, she commended GAA Handball for restoring the ladies minor final to the finals programme. With the ladies senior final last on the card in the traditional showpiece slot, she feels great strides are being made in this regard, although more can always be done.
“I am absolutely delighted to see the ladies minor final on the same programme as the other finals - I think this is a great step forward. I think GAA Handball are making good strides towards equality in sport with their online features and webinars and coverage of Ladies Handball – this is all promising.
“In terms of future efforts, it could be good to see more investment in encouraging women in the equivalent “masters +” ages to play (or return to play) and maintaining participation of girls in critical teenage years.”
By Paul Fitzpatrick
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