Saturday promises to provide a cracking day of Handball in Kingscourt HC, as the four Senior Singles SF's are down for decision and some tasty encounters lye await.
The Ladies take to the court first with both SF's starting at 2pm, with this years final four arguably the strongest SF lineup since the first Ladies 40x20 All-Ireland 25 years ago. Reigning champion Aisling Reilly will start her bid for three in a row, a feat not achieved since Fiona Shannon back in 2008, against Galway teenager Ciana Ni Churraoin. Reilly has found a a rich run of form in the last six months, claiming the World & then US Open titles, but sustained a dislocated finger during the She's Ace Tournament in January.
Reilly is renowned for her power game, but her opponent Ni Churraoin is a big hitter herself. Whilst still only 19, the Michael Breathnach club woman seems to have been around for a life time already. She had an illustrious juvenile career, and just last weekend she won her first US Collegiate Title, and will hold no fear in playing double World Champ Reilly.
The second SF sees an all Munster match up, with former champion Catriona Casey facing Martina McMahon. Casey won this title in 2013, but has lost the two finals since, and will be extremely hungry to claim her second title in four years. In Martina McMahon, she has an opponent that she knows can cause her trouble. The Broadford woman is a powerful player herself and has a silky left hand that when hot can flattens balls from anywhere on the court. It has only been five weeks since these two last met in the Munster Final, and considering it was a 21-15, 20-21, 21-15 three game thriller to Casey, we can expect fireworks again come Saturday.
The first Men's SF sees Robbie McCarthy take of CJ Fitzpatrick, with the Mullingar man also bidding for a three in a row of titles. McCarthy is as smooth yet devastating a player you will see in the game and will start as many peoples hot favourite against Broadford man Fitzpatrick. But CJ is the current Munster Champion, coming through a minefield of a Championship, ousting Dominic Lynch & Colin Crehan en route to his first Munster Senior 40x20 crown. Last weekend he also held his nerve to record a 21-20 third game win over Patrick Funchion to keep alive his hopes of All-Ireland glory so he has had plenty of competitive action and should be sharp.
The second Mens SF sees Charly Shanks take on Martin Mulkerrins. Shanks has made three previous finals, falling to Paul Brady twice and Robbie McCarthy 21-20 in the third last year, so he will be on a mission to finally get over the line and claim the title. He looked impressive in the Ulster Championships too, blitzing all comers to single figures in his three matches. In his way is Moycullen's Mulkerrins, playing in his first Senior SF. A three game win over Joe McCann in the Connacht Final was followed up by a dogged 21-15, 21-18 QF win over Eoin Kennedy, so like Fitzpatrick, Mulkerrins' form should be simmering nicely ahead of Saturday. He may be entering as slight underdog, but everyone in Handball circles know on his day Mulkerrins has the game to take out big names and he will be confident he can upset Shanks this Saturday afternoon.
All-Ireland 40x20 Senior Singles SF's
Saturday 5th March – Kingscourt
Ladies SF's:
- 2.00pm Ct1 SF1: Antrim (Aisling Reilly) v Galway (Ciana Ni Churraoin)
- 2.00pm Ct2 SF2: Cork (Catriona Casey) v Limerick (Martina McMahon)
Mens SF's:
- 3.00pm SF1: Westmeath (Robbie McCarthy) v Limerick (CJ Fitzpatrick)
- 4.00pm SF2: Galway (Martin Mulkerrins) v Armagh (Charly Shanks)