Regardless of what happens in the upcoming Senior Doubles final against Galway, Cork duo Catriona Casey and Ashling O’Keeffe’s place in the annals is secure, writes Paul Fitzpatrick.
The Ballydesmond ladies have seven 4-wall and nine softball Senior Doubles titles to their names already and they would dearly love to add an eighth in the ‘small alley’ this weekend.
Having won so much, it would be easy for the motivation to drop but there is no sign of that. Casey views doubles as a form of the game which complements her excellence in singles (“excellence” was not the word the modest Corkwoman used) and her friendship with O’Keeffe (the pair have been playing together since they were eight years old) means it’s always enjoyable to team up.
“I really enjoy playing doubles with Ashling and I love the camaraderie of it - the shared responsibility, sharing success or disappointment,” Casey said this week.
“She’s a really positive person to play with and it’s a unique challenge playing doubles because we know it’s a very different game to singles so in a way, it kind of freshens things up for me.
While they have been playing together for two decades now and live at opposite sides of the country currently, Catriona and Ashling still make sure to find time for plenty of doubles training in order to make sure they are at the peak of their powers for the championship.
“We do know each other’s games pretty well by now and have a good understanding but we definitely can’t take that for granted. It’s a bit more difficult to train together given that Ashling is in Dublin and I live in Ennis now.
“But we do try our best to get games in together, Ashling came down to me for a training weekend a couple of weeks ago and when we are both home in Ballydesmond, we try to get some games in together.”
In common with all of the other players in the handball family, Casey is delighted to have the opportunity to compete in the new National Handball Centre. She feels it is a motivating factor for players and helps to sell the sport in the best possible fashion to the wider Gaelic games and sporting communities.
Having played handball all over the world, Catriona has graced some amazing complexes and yet Croke Park is arguably the pick of the lot.
Handball, she feels, is very much on the up now due to a number of factors.
“We’re thrilled to be playing these big finals in the new centre in Croke Park now, I feel it’s giving the game the proper stage it deserves. The show court is a real spectacle and somewhere for kids to aspire to play in in the future as well.
“The new headquarters together with the TG4 live stream is giving the sport a great platform now so it’s a very positive time to be involved in handball.
“There was a great buzz around for the semi-final weekend so I’m looking forward to more of the same this weekend.
“It’s definitely somewhere that we can be proud of, it’s very accessible for families, friends and spectators to come and support as well.”
Cork has a very close final against Galway last year, winning in an 11-10 tiebreaker and for Catriona, it represents one of the more memorable matches she has been involved in.
“Last year’s doubles final was one I’ll probably never forget! It came down to the wire. It was very satisfying to get over the line. Ciana and Niamh are a very strong partnership and we’ll have to bring our best on the day, there’s no doubt about that,
“But this type of competition is exactly what ladies doubles needs I think,” she added.
There is a bumper programme of finals this weekend in all Adult and Masters grades. The oneills.com Men's and Ladies Minor and Senior Doubles and the Masters A Doubles will be streamed live on Sport TG4 YouTube page from 12 noon on Saturday.
View fixtures here.