Armagh's Charly Shanks has finally gotten his hands on the title he so cherished when he upset the odds to dethrone Robbie McCarthy to claim the 2017 O'Neills All-Ireland 40x20 Title.
Having lost the previous two finals to McCarthy, and four finals in all, Shanks stunned the champ in the opener with an explosion of attacking play to storm to a 21-4 win. The manner of the opening game astonished the packed gallery, but given McCarthy's ability to come back from the death, everyone expected a reaction in the second.
But in truth it never really came as Shanks again took control from the off with precision serving and killing. A brief rally from the champ saw him close the gap to 13-12, but only two more points were to be gained as Shanks closed out the match 21-14, unshackling huge relief that the 33 year old finally crossed that elusive hurdle.
An emotional embrace with his wife Mary, his father, and then his long term coach Mervyn McCann showed just how much it meant to Shanks.
In the Ladies Final, Catriona Casey was ruthlessly efficient as she dismantled the high hopes of Martina McMahon 21-5, 21-4. Many expected a classic but it was never allowed to materialise as Casey never gave McMahon a sniff, as she claimed her 3rd title.
Elsewhere there were major wins for Corks Tadhg O'Neill (Boys Minor), Armagh's Megan McCann (Girls Minor) & Corks Tadgh Carroll (Intermediate) after another fantastic Finals Festival Weekend.
GAA Handball would like to thanks all the helpers and volunteers who made this weekend possible and such a success for our sport.
Key Results:
- Men's Senior - Armagh (Charly Shanks) dft Westmeath (Robbie McCarthy) 21-4, 21-13
- Ladies Senior - Cork (Catriona Casey) dft Limerick (Martina McMahon) 21-5, 21-4
- Boys Minor - Cork (Tagdh O’Neill) dft Kilkenny (Eoin Brennan) 21-14, 21-11
- Ladies Minor - Armagh (Megan McCann) dft Wexford (Cora Doyle) 21-11, 21-10
Other Results:
- IS Cork (Tadgh Carroll) dft Wexford (Daniel Kavanagh) 21-15, 18-21, 21-7
- U21S Clare (Colin Corbett) dft Kildare (Kevin Diggins) 21-15, 15-1 K. Diggins ret. inj.
- JBS Antrim (Jordan O’Neill) dft Carlow (Aaron Geoghegan) 21-17, 21-8
- JS Monaghan (Gavin Coyle) dft Dublin (Keith Burke) 21-5, 21-18
- O35AS Antrim (Ricky McCann) dft Wexford (Gavin Buggy) 21-11, 18-21, 21-8
- O35BS Roscommon (Denis Creaton) dft Cork (Jamie O’Donnell) 21-11, 21-8
- MAS Kerry (Dominick Lynch) dft Carlow (Ollie Ryan) 21-7, 21-5
- MBS Dublin (Conor Maxwell) dft Tipperary (Brian O’Brien) 21-17, 21-13
- SMAS Mayo (Tom Sweeney) dft Limerick (Tómas Donegan) 11-21, 21-12, 21-20
- SMBS Monaghan (Michael Clerkin) dft Kilkenny (William Holden) 19-21, 21-14, 21-6
- GMAS Cork (John Herlihy) dft Dublin (Egin Jensen) 21-6, 21-11
- GMBS Tyrone (Kenny Curran) dft Mayo (George Miller) 21-12, 21-12
- EMAS Westmeath (Robbie McCarthy) dft Antrim (Thomas Maguire) 21-7, 21-10
- EMBS Galway (Denis Phelan) dft Limerick (Jimmy Fanning) 21-9, 21-20
- DMAS Carlow (John Rossiter) dft Tipperary (Billy Mullins) 21-12, 21-8
- DMBS Kilkenny (Joe Anthony) dft Down (Brian Havern) 21-17, 21-18
- RMS Dublin (Eugene Kennedy) dft Monaghan (Michael McCarron) 21-12, 21-9
- O70S Tipperary (Jim Ryan) dft Galway (Morgan Darcy) 21-15, 21-4
- LJBS Kildare (Ellen O'Connor) dft Tyrone (Michelle Warren) 20-21, 21-13, 21-20
- LJS Tyrone (Eilise McCrory) dft Kildare (Hannah Dagg) 21-3, 21-13
- LIS Roscommon (Fiona Tully) dft Clare (Clodagh Nash) 21-3, 21-4