Top Stars Descend on Cork for Southern Classic

by Paul Fitzpatrick

Top stars descend on Cork for Southern Classic

Some of the biggest names in Irish handball will converge on Co Cork this weekend as the Southern Classic gets under way, with a change of date bringing a different dimension to one of the most popular tournaments on the domestic calendar.

The competition has moved to late October, with the action taking place across the Mallow and Liscarroll courts from this evening (Friday) through to Sunday's final.

A strong field has been assembled, featuring established stars, former champions and some of the most exciting emerging talents in the game, with eight first-round matches down for decision on Friday evening.

Among the most intriguing ties is the meeting of Cavan's Ben Devlin and Kilkenny's Kyle Jordan at Mallow at 6.30pm.

Devlin has enjoyed an outstanding season across various codes, capturing the All-Ireland Junior Softball Singles title and the All-Ireland Senior Wallball Singles crown, while also showing well at the World Wallball Championships in New York last month.

The Kingscourt player will be hoping to carry that form into the 40x20 court, although Jordan represents a formidable opening-round opponent. The Kilkenny man is an established performer at the highest level, having won the All-Ireland Senior Softball and Hardball Doubles already this year, and he is a former winner of this event.

Another attractive contest sees Clare's Colin Crehan take on Kilkenny's Jack Doyle at Liscarroll at 8.15pm. The prize for the winner of this match is a crack at number one seed Robbie McCarthy tomorrow (Saturday).

Elsewhere, Shane Hedigan, from the host club, faces Shane Dunne of Kilkenny at the same venue at 6.45pm.

The Rebels have a strong representation throughout the draw and Brendan Fleming of Ballydesmond, the world Over 40s champion, will be first into action when he meets Mayo's Paddy Murphy at Mallow at 4pm.

Cork's Gearóid Healy will also be hoping to make home advantage count when he faces Jordan O'Neill, who makes the long trip south from Antrim, at Liscarroll at 7.30pm.

Elsewhere, Cian O'Driscoll takes on Galway's Seamus Conneely at Mallow at 8pm, while Kildare’s Niall O'Connor meets Kilkenny's John Hayes at Liscarroll at 6pm in a battle of the citeogs.

Monaghan's Oran Kiernan and Limerick's Evan Murphy complete the opening-round line-up, with their meeting scheduled for Mallow at 7.15pm. The winner of this match will take on local favourite David Walsh in the round of 16.

The competition moves up a gear on Saturday when the eight first-round winners join eight seeded players in the last 16.

Monaghan duo Gavin Coyle and Eoghan McGinnity are in action, with Coyle facing Cork's Daniel Relihan and McGinnity awaiting a first-round winner (Hedigan or Dunne).

Kerry veteran Dominick Lynch meets Michael Hedigan of Cork, while Sligo youngster Cormac Finn is another player who enters the competition at the last-16 stage; Finn, the Senior Softball Singles finalist this year, will play the winner of Murphy and the canny Fleming.

With the quarter-finals scheduled for Saturday evening and the semi-finals and final taking place at Liscarroll on Sunday, the tournament promises three days of high-quality action.

The Southern Classic marks the first event of the 2026/27 4-wall season; with the new All-Ireland format meaning an earlier start to championships, the tournament takes on extra significance as the country’s best players vie for ranking points and, crucially, competitive matches.

Full draws and schedules are available on knowthescore.ie.