The MyClubShop.ie All-Ireland Senior Softball Doubles championships hit their stride this Saturday with a bumper day of quarter-final and semi-final action in men’s and women’s grades at Crinkle, Garryhill and Mulingar.
Top seeds and defending champions Brian Carroll and Gary McConnell of Kells are first up at the Offaly venue where they will meet Moycullen, Co Galway brothers Martin and Diarmuid Mulkerrins.
The Connemara men have both been in good form of late, with Martin winning the Irish Nationals in Wexford and reaching the semi-final of the All-Ireland Senior Singles while younger brother Diarmuid reached the final of the Intermediate Doubles, losing in a third game against Kilkenny.
The Connacht pair had an impressive 21-8, 21-10 win over Mayo’s Joe McCann and Joe Dowling last time out but they will be well aware that while McCann and Dowling are a strong pair, the Kells team represent a significant step up in quality.
Athletic and courageous, Carroll is rightly regarded as one of the best right-side players the sport has seen, having won seven Senior Doubles titles with Tom Sheridan, and the talented McConnell, who has all the shots, came of age last year with an outstanding performance in the All-Ireland final.
Left side player McConnell had a disappointing singles campaign but a repeat of the form he showed last year would make the Royals firm favourites – anything less and the hungry, skilful Galway pair could make this one interesting.
In the second game, Robbie McCarthy and Colm Jordan meet Tipperary duo Ger Coonan and David Hickey. McCarthy will be smarting from an unexpected loss in the Senior Single final last weekend and will be looking to gain some consolation with an extended run in the doubles alongside the powerful Jordan, who recently transferred from Cork.
The Irish Defence Forces/Irish Navy combo reached the semi-final of the hardball doubles and will be hopeful of repeating that feat at least in softball. They will be favourites to advance – however, Hickey and Coonan are a very good partnership who should be well capable of troubling the best in the land on their day.
Hickey is a former junior and intermediate winner while Coonan has also won minor; the Ballina men would dearly love to complete the set and win a maiden senior title but they will have to be on top of their game against McCarthy and Jordan.
In the first game at Garryhill, Wexford’s Gavin Buggy and Mikey Berry take on Kilkenny men Ciaran Neary and Keith Bourke.
Buggy has been in exceptional form this year. He made the semi-finals of the Senior Singles, losing to McCarthy while giving a good account of himself in the second game, and he also won the Over 35 A Singles All-Ireland title in convincing fashion.
His partner, Berry, is a former Intermediate Doubles winner and a very solid player.
In the opposite corner, the Cats have also been going well of late. Hard-hitting lefty Neary recently won the Kilkenny Senior Singles – the Eamon Law Cup – for the third successive season while Bourke reached the Promised Land of senior status last week when he teamed up with Shane Dunne to win the Intermediate Doubles.
A close contest is in store between two very good sides, with a third game likely to be needed to separate them.
In the last of the quarter-finals, all four combatants have senior medals to their names. Wexford’s Tommy Hynes won the Senior Softball Doubles back in 2000 along with Colin Keeling; 11 years later, Barry Goff did likewise. They had a good win against Damien Martin and Riki O’Gara (21-10, 21-14) last time out.
Now, the two veteran left-handers, who met recently in an excellent county final, team up to take on former winners Eoin Kennedy and Carl Browne, who won the crown in 2015 and have been in the last three finals.
This will be an intriguing match-up between four top big alley players, with Kennedy sure to be high in confidence after his memorable win in the singles final last weekend and Browne also in top form and primed for a big showing.
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Saturday 14th September
Crinkle, Offaly OIC Kevin Cooke (087 6423846) At 11.30am
- QF A: Meath (Brian Carroll/Gary McConnell) v Galway (Martin Mulkerrins/Diarmuid Mulkerrins)
- QF C: Westmeath (Robbie McCarthy/Colm Jordan) v Tipperary (Ger Coonan/David Hickey)
Garryhill, Carlow OIC Daniel Fenlon (086 0889376) At 11.30am
- QF B: Wexford (Gavin Buggy/Mikey Berry) v Kilkenny (Ciaran Neary/Keith Bourke)
- QF D Wexford (Tommy Hynes/Barry Goff) v Dublin (Eoin Kennedy/Carl Browne)
Mullingar, Westmeath OIC David Mulaniff (087 9006240) At 11.30am
- SF 1: Cork (Catriona Casey/Aishling O’Keefe) v Mayo (Pauline Gallagher/Amy Corrigan)
- SF 2: Kildare (Leah Doyle/Mollie Dagg) v Kilkenny (Ciara Mahon/Aoife Holden)