Three busy weekends of action at Kingscourt HC were rounded off last Sunday with the culmination of the All-Ireland 4-Wall Juvenile Championships.
The most successful county on the day was Clare, who picked up five titles from the 16 on offer. Cork won three while Tipperary, Galway and Wexford each landed two titles and there was one apiece for Tyrone and Kilkenny.
There were some brilliant games over the weekend. The blue riband juvenile titles are the U16 Singles grades and they were won by Anthony Clifford (Kilkenny) and Carmel Kelleher (Cork).
Talbot’s Inch boy Anthony, whose father Timmy won the same title in 1997, fell 7-0 behind in the first game against the skilful Matthew Coughlan of Clare, who came out shooting, but found his range and ran out an impressive winner.
Carmel, from Boherbue HC, survived a stern test against Kilkenny’s Katie Jordan in an excellent final, winning in a tiebreaker to add another success to her CV. Both Clifford and Kelleher were also successful in the USHA Junior Nationals in California at Christmas.
The Boys U16D was a particularly exciting match, with Clare’s Paul Rodgers and Jack Madden coming through in a tiebreaker after dropping the first game against the strong Galway pairing of Gavin Kelly and Caleb Donnellan.
The U14 Singles crowns, which have been won by many future senior stars, were won by Sean Considine (Clare) and Amy Brosnan (Cork), who defeated Niamh Drennan (Kilkenny) and Bertie Donohue (Galway) respectively.
All photos will be uploaded on GAA Handball Facebook page in the coming week.
RESULTS
Semi-finals
U14S: Niamh Drennan (Kilkenny) dft Freya Donnellan (Galway) 15-2, 15-8
U14S: Amy Brosnan (Cork) dft Aoibhin Fallon (Antrim) 15-3, 15-1
U14S: Bertie Donohue (Galway) dft Conor Minogue (Kilkenny) 15-8, 15-5
U14S: Sean Considine (Clare) dft Ciaran McCrystal (Tyrone) 10-15, 15-9, 15-5
U14D Donnicha Lenihan & Eoin Shanahan (Clare) dft Tarlach Tracey & Jack Delvin (Tyrone) 15-5, 14-15, 15-9
U14D: Oisin O Neachtain/Jack O Conghaile (Galway) dft Jack O'Neill/Jack Egan (Kilkenny) 15-13, 15-5
U14D: Ella Casey & Tara Lucas (Clare) dft Minnie McCallen & MaryJo Morris (Tyrone) 15-1, 15-6
U15S: Donnacha Mahon (Clare) dft. Pearse McDonald (Tyrone) 15-14, 15-13
U15S: Macdara O'Gradaigh (Galway) dft Rian Dowling (Kilkenny) 15-6, 15-8
U15D: Conor Ryan & Daniel McKelvey (Tipperary) dft Oisin Kelly & Ben McGarvey (Tyrone) 15-10, 15-2
U15D: Travis Gibbons & Colm Finn (Sligo) dft Samuel John O'Shea & Dan Carroll (Kilkenny) 15-11,14-15,15-12
U15S: Stephanie Walsh (Galway) dft. Kitty Walsh (Wexford) 15-4, 15-9
U15S: Claire Minogue (Clare) dft Therese Cowan (Down) 15-8, 15-1
U15D: Isabelle McInerney & Clare Shanahan (Clare) dft Cara McCrory & Clara Rose Marley (Tyrone) 15-10, 15-1
U16S: Matthew Coughlan (Clare) dft. Calum Sherry (Monaghan) 21-13, 21-4
U16S: Anthony Clifford (Kilkenny) dft. Oran McNulty (Sligo) 21-1, 21-2
U16D: Paul Rodgers & Jack Madden (Clare) dft. Sean Kennedy & Ryan McCallan (Tyrone) 21-13, 21-9
U16D: Caleb Donnellan & Gavin Kelly (Galway) dft. Sean Fitzharris & Jamie Moran (Wexford) 21-10, 21-14
U16S: Carmel Kelleher (Cork) dft Caislin Tracey (Tyrone) 21-18, 21-14
U16D: Laura Duff & Lucy McCullagh (Tyrone) dft. Lucy Gould & Lucy Slattery (Tipperary) 21-4, 21-6
U16D: Mia O'Connell & Jenny Saunders (Kilkenny) dft. Aoibhe Ní Chadain & Síle Ní Chonghaille (Galway) 21-8, 21-7
U17S: Rocky Reilly (Tipperary) dft. Padraig Fox (Tyrone) 21-1, 21-1
U17D: Rory Morrissey & Daithi Colleran (Waterford) dft. Donnacha McCluskey & Eathan Macarron (Monaghan) 21-7, 21-10
U17S: Norma Kerrisk (Cork) dft. Niamh McElwain (Monaghan) 21-5, 21-10
U17S: Ava Sweeney (Galway) dft. Leah Ryan (Carlow) 21-18, 21-9
U17D: Katie Mulcahy & Aoife Williams (Tipperary) dft Laura Delaney & Clara Conlon (Tyrone) 21-20, 21-11
U17D: Emma Kelly & Laura Doherty (Kilkenny) dft. Katie Mulcahy & Aoife Williams (Tipperary) 21-14, 21-5
Finals
Girls U14S: Amy Brosnan (Cork) dft. Niamh Drennan (Kilkenny) 15-9, 15-5
Girls U14D: Ella Casey & Tara Lucas (Clare) dft. Kate O Brien & Moya Egan (Kilkenny) 15-2, 15-7
Girls U15S: Claire Minogue (Clare) dft. Stephanie Walsh (Galway) 15-1, 15-1
Girls U15D: Isabelle McInerney & Claire Shanahan (Clare) dft. Orla Duggan & Kate Ryan (Kilkenny) 15-3, 15-4
Girls U16S: Carmel Kelleher (Cork) dft. Katie Jordan (Kilkenny) 19-21, 21-9, 11-8
Girls U16D: Laura Duff & Lucy McCullagh (Tyrone) dft. Mia O Connell & Jenny Saunders (Kilkenny) 21-16, 21-12
Girls U17S: Norma Kerrisk (Cork) dft. Ava Sweeney (Galway) 21-11, 21-19
Girls U17D: Katie Mulcahy & Aoife Williams (Tipperary) dft Laura Delaney & Clara Conlon (Tyrone) 21-20, 21-11
Boys U14S: Sean Considine (Clare) dft. Bertie Donohue (Galway) 15-6, 15-10
Boys U14D: Oisín Ó Neachtáin & Jack Ó Conghaile (Galway) dft. Donnach Lenihan & Eoin Shanahan (Clare) 15-10, 15-5
Boys U15S: Macdara O Gradaigh (Galway) dft. Donnacha Mahon (Clare) 15-14, 9-15, 15-9
Boys U15D: Conor Ryan & Daniel McKelvey (Tipperary) dft. Travis Gibbons & Colm Finn (Sligo) 15-11, 15-5
Boys U16S: Anthony Clifford (Kilkenny) dft. Matthew Coughlan (Clare) 21-8, 21-1
Boys U16D: Paul Rodgers & Jack Madden (Clare) dft. Caleb Donnellan & Gavin Kelly (Galway) 7-21, 21-17, 11-8
Boys U17S: Joshua Roche (Wexford) dft. Rocky Reilly (Tipperary) 21-16, 21-5
Boys U17D: Jamie Barnes & Jack Whitty (Wexford) dft. Rody Morrissey & Daithi Colleran (Waterford) 21-7, 21-9