The girls got game – lots of game. If anyone is in any doubt as to how the standard of ladies handball has risen, they just need to watch our top stars in action. The speed, power and shot selection is a mirror of the men's game, and nobody showcases the mastery of the sport better than Catriona Casey and Aisling Reilly.
Casey has recently begun trying to qualify for the men's pro handball tour in the United States, which highlights how confident she is in her own skillset. She and Reilly have been vying for top spot for a number of years and today's battle will tell us more about which individual will win that war.
Nothing stokes the fire in any sport like a genuine rivalry and fans are fortunate to be able to witness two superstars in their prime, colliding at full tilt, regularly, in huge matches. Casey and Reilly, Reilly and Casey – the problem is, only one of those names can be inscribed on the cup, and two into one can't go.
There were four strong players in the semi-finals of the All-Ireland race – Maria Daly is a former winner and possesses one of the best off-hands in the game, while Martina McMahon is a smooth, left-hander with a fabulous all-round game – but Reilly and Casey came comfortably through.
Today's match-up was expected, but is no less intrigung for that. The sub-plot is that Casey – recently described by American handball promoter Dave Vincent as the great female player ever to have played – has been in dominant form for the past 12 months.
While she dropped a game to Ciana Ní Churáoin in New York last weekend, the reality, however, is that Casey rarely concedes many points against any player barring Reilly.
There is huge talent in the field at present – the likes of Daly, Ashely Prendiville, Lorraine Havern (who is back on form after being domiciled Down Under for a year), lefty McMahon, Maeve McElduff, Lauren O’Riordan and the powerful Ní Churráin among others are all either at the top level already or ready to gate-crash the party – but Casey and Reilly, in no order, stand separate from the rest.
Where has it come from? Well, each generation will find ways to improve on the previous one, and the current players are standing on the shoulders of a giant in the form of Fiona Shannon.
Shannon was (and still is, I’m sure) a magnificent player. The Belfast woman, in her prime, was extremely well conditioned and had the heart to go with her hustle. She practically alleviated hand errors, developed an excellent ceiling game and came prepared.
She was a ferocious competitor, a born winner and, for a decade, nobody could handle it.
But the game has moved on now and it may just be that the standard has risen. Certainly, and this is no disrespect whatsoever to the magnificent Shannon, Casey and Reilly seem to be operating at a higher level than their predecessors in terms of the smoothness of their shots, their consistency and their ability to end rallies with kills.
Casey is Healy-esque with her patience and percentage play, while Reilly is like a female version of Brady – strong, aggressive and explosive.
When the final story comes to be written, it may be that the torch was passed on to the younger brigade on a raucous night in front of 4,000 fans in October 2012 at City West, when Reilly conquered her club mate, the indomitable Shannon, in the final of the World Championships.
Casey, still eligible for the U19 grade, had opted to skip the Open that year, a decision she admitted in an interview that she regrets.
Reilly did it the hard way, winning her first title in a tiebreaker against the game’s greatest player, but the handball world almost spun off its axis a few months later when Casey defeated her in a 21-19 third game in the All-Ireland semi-final and went on to beat Daly in straight games in the final.
That did not signal a changing of the guard, however.
Reilly was stung by the loss and the next time the pair met, in the final of the Irish Nationals in Kingscourt, Aisling won emphatically, 21-7, 21-7.
She asserted herself again when retaining her US Nationals title in Des Moines a couple of months later, overcoming a 21-20 loss in game one to close it out 21-10, 11-3.
By October 2013, though, the pendulum had swung back in Casey’s favour, as she won the US Open in Los Cab, 21-12, 21-17.
Reilly seized back the initiative in last year's senior final in Kingscourt with a commanding performance, but the Cork woman has dominated since, winning the Irish and US Nationals, US Open and even the She's Ace competition.
There is very little between the pair talent-wise (as far back as three years ago, in the quarter-final of the All-Ireland Senior Singles, a third game was needed to separate them) and when the latest chapter, which will be written this afternoon, will be compelling.
It’s a mouth watering prospect – the two top players, on top of their games, meeting on the big stage, Interest in the ladies final will be as high, or close to it, as that in the men’s final, something which has been reflected by GAA Handball’s wise decision to re-fix the ladies final for the same programme as the men’s, a move they made last year.
What makes it all the more fascinating is what impact the result will have on the course of their careers. Because, as with all other great rivalries, there can only be one.
Eventually, one player will emerge as the dominant individual; usually by sheer force of will, they will elevate their game and become numero uno.
It’s tantalising to think about it. As we write, Casey (21) is the US Nationals, Irish Nationals and USHA Collegiate champion, Reilly (26) is the All-Ireland holder and world champion. Both are in good form and both have set out their training to peak for this day.
Something has to give. This, as the marketing men might say, will be epic.