After a thrilling weekend of action at the 10th John Gaffney Memorial, sponsored by Drury Oils Ltd, Clare’s Diarmaid Nash claimed victory over former champion Robbie McCarthy (Westmeath) in the final on a score line of 15-7, 15-8.
Nash has been the standout player all year, showing supreme consistency having elevated his game to a new level. In his SF however he was given a real run for his money against his Doubles partner Colin Crehan, prevailing by the minimum in the first 15-14, before pushing on for a 15-9 win in the second.
McCarthy himself looked assured all weekend, as he normally does. He faced regular 60x30 foe Eoin Kennedy in the SF, and defeated the Dubliner 15-6, 15-12 to advance to his first Ranking Final of the season. That was after Kennedy stole the show on Saturday with tiebreak wins over Sean Kerr & reigning All-Ireland Champion Martin Mulkerrins.
In the Final however Nash was dominant and secured his second title from three events.
The past ten years have seen the tournament emerge as major showpiece event in the handball season, going from strength to strength each year. On Saturday evening after the first two days of play, club members and patrons of the tournament celebrated the past decade of success in Spells Bar, with all involved looking forward to the next ten years of top class handball.
Ballaghaderreen HC would like say a special word of thanks to the tournament sponsors, Drury Oils Ltd (main tournament sponsor), Regan & Sons, Spells Bar, Durkin’s Hotel, Jennings Pump Services, Cunniffe’s Butchers, O’Hara’s Bakery and McHugh Wholesale and all other benefactors, without whom the tournament could not take place.
Results
1st Round:
- Eoin Kennedy dft David Walsh 15-5, 15-3
- Brian Carroll dft Patrick Funchion 15-12, 15-8
- Dominic Lynch dft Shane O’Neill 15-3, 15-1
- Ger Coonan dft Rikki O’Gara 12-15, 15-8, 11-0
- Michael Hedigan dft Gavin Buggy 15-8, 15-5
- Joe McCann dft Paul Moran 15-3, 15-3
- Peter Funchion dft Diarmuid Mulkerrins 15-10, 15-1
- Conor McElduff dft Tiarnan Agnew 15-4, 13-15, 11-3
Last 16:
- Martin Mulkerrins dft Michael Hedigan 15-7, 15-4
- Eoin Kennedy dft Sean Kerr 15-4, 11-15, 11-1
- Brian Carroll dft Brendan Fleming 15-12, 0-15, 11-4
- Robbie McCarthy dft Joe McCann 15-1, 15-4
- Michael Gregan dft Ger Coonan 15-5, 15-6
- Colin Crehan dft Conor McElduff 15-13, 15-6
- Peter Funchion dft Darragh Daly 15-5, 15-2
- Diarmaid Nash dft Dominic Lynch 15-7, 15-6
QF's:
- QF 1: Eoin Kennedy dft Martin Mulkerrins 6-15 15-12 11-7
- QF 2: Robbie McCarthy dft Brian Carroll 15-1, 15-13
- QF 3: Colin Crehan dft Michael Gregan 15-12, 15-3
- QF 4: Diarmaid Nash dft Peter Funchion 15-9, 15-8
SF's:
- SF 1: Robbie McCarthy dft Eoin Kennedy 15-6, 15-12
- SF 2: Diarmaid Nash dft Colin Crehan 15-14, 15-9
Final:
- Diarmaid Nash dft Robbie McCarthy 15-8, 15-7
9th Playoff:
- SF 1: Joe McCann dft Diarmaid Mulkerrins
- SF 2: Patrick Funchion dft Dominic Lynch
- Final: Joe McCann w/o Patrick Funchion