Eleven venues played host to the various grades of the Adult Softball Singles finals at the weekend as the titles for 2019 were decided. In total EIGHTEEN counties contested finals with THIRTEEN taking home gold medals. Wexford were the form county of the weekend taking home four titles while Kilkenny and Tipperary were next in line with three each followed by Kildare, Mayo and Westmeath on two titles apiece while Armagh, Carlow, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Meath and Sligo all shared one title each.
There was an eye-catching win for Kildare’s Leah Doyle as she took the Ladies Minor Singles title for the 3rd year in a row with a good win over Mayo’s Cuilean Burke while Westmeath’s Aoife McCarthy went one better than last year when she overcame Tipperary’s Sinead Meagher to win the Ladies Intermediate grade.
In the Men’s Intermediate Doubles, Kilkenny’s Keith Bourke and Shane Dunne had a tight tie-break victory over Galway’s Diarmuid Mulkerrins and Cian Ó Conghaille. Patrick Murphy from Mayo took the Junior Singles title with victory over Limerick’s Shane Murphy while Tipperary’s James Prentice secured the U21 title defeating Tyrone’s Sean Kerr over three tight games.
In the Over 35's A final Wexford’s Gavin Buggy overcame Galway’s Ollie Conway while in the Masters A decider Kerry’s Dominick Lynch accounted for Mayo’s Vinnie Moran also over two games.
GAA Handball would like to thank all the host clubs, referees and officials who enabled a large programme of finals to take place around the country.
All-Ireland Adult Softball Championship 2019 – Singles Finals
- MS Kilkenny (Kyle Dunne) dft Monaghan (Eoghan McGinnity) 14-21, 21-13, 21-19
- U21S Tipperary (James Prentice) dft Tyrone (Sean Kerr) 13-21, 21-20, 21-14
- JBS Clare (Fergal Coughlan Jnr) dft Roscommon (Michael Egan) 21-7, 21-10
- JS Mayo (Patrick Murphy) dft Limerick (Shane Murphy) 21-18, 21-14
- ID Kilkenny (Keith Bourke/Shane Dunne) dft Galway (Diarmuid Mulkerrins/Cian Ó Conghaille) 21-18, 8-21, 21-15
- O35AS Wexford (Gavin Buggy) dft Galway (Ollie Conway) 21-7, 21-6
- O35BS Limerick (Keith Heelan) dft Roscommon (Glen Walsh) 21-11, 15-21, 21-11
- MAS Kerry (Dominick Lynch) dft Mayo (Vinnie Moran) 21-7, 21-7
- MBS Wexford (James Stanners) dft Galway (Matt Kenny) 21-3, 21-6
- SMAS Wexford (Tommy Hynes) dft Mayo (Tom Sweeney) 21-3, 21-9
- SMBS Mayo (James Towey) dft Tipperary (John Kennedy) 21-13, 16-21, 21-17
- GMAS Meath (Tom Sheridan) dft Tipperary (Pat O’ Flaherty)
- GMBS Kildare (Gary Bolger) dft Tyrone (Finbarr Fullen) 15-21, 21-9, 21-14
- EMAS Westmeath (Robbie McCarthy Snr) dft Sligo (Francis McCann) 21-2, 21-15
- EMBS Wexford (James Mythen) dft Galway (Brendan McNeela) 21-14, 21-6
- DMAS Tipperary (Billy Mullins) dft Leitrim (Ed Lee) 21-6, 21-8
- DMBS Kilkenny (Gerry Murphy) dft Monaghan (James Fealy) 21-6, 21-13
- RMS Carlow (John Rossiter) dft Mayo (Martin Cronin) 21-3, 21-5
- O70S Tipperary (Pakie Mullins) dft Galway (Morgan Darcy) 21-2, 21-0
- LMS Kildare (Leah Doyle) dft Mayo (Cuileann Burke) 21-14, 21-3
- LJBS Armagh (Megan McCann) dft Limerick (Aisling Shanahan) 11-21, 21-8, 21-14
- LJS Sligo (Laura Finn) dft Kilkenny (Deirdre Purcell) 21-15, 21-12
- LIS Westmeath (Aoife McCarthy) dft Tipperary (Sinead Meagher) 21-7, 21-14