Tyrone's Conor McElduff and Martina McMahon won the Men's and Ladies Open titles respectively at a packed Breaffy House Sports Arena on Saturday night. The Saturday night finals have become a major success and this year's finals were no exception as a packed Breaffy House witnessed two gripping encounters.
McElduff who last won the title in 2015 was in imperious form against former champion Charly Shanks (Armagh) as he blitzed into an early lead in game one. Shanks who won the title on three previous occasions fought back and came within one ace of levelling the game at 14-13. However one slip let McElduff in and he made no mistake in closing out the game 15-14 much to the relief of his supporters present. It was a blow to Shanks who had fought hard to get back in the game but it came to no avail.
The second game saw McElduff start like a train and before long he had opened a sizeable lead at 7-1. Shanks managed to claw a few scores back but McElduff went on another scoring streak and this time there would be no comeback as he closed the game out 15-5 and with that secured his third title.
The Ladies Open Final was a repeat of last year's decider as four time champion Lorraine Havern took on Limerick's Martina McMahon a previous winner in 2014. On that occasion the Down lady took the title but McMahon was in a determined mood to gain some revenge this time around. In a ruthless first game she blitzed her way to a 15-4 victory as she set out her stall. In the second Havern responded but McMahon was in a determined mood not to let another title slip and she closed out a 15-9 win to take her second title.
On Sunday all the remaining adult & juvenile semi finals and finals took place as the titles from 13&Under to Over 70 were decided to bring the action to a close.
Kilkenny's Kyle Jordan claimed a brilliant 16-14 comeback win over Galway's Mikey Kelly in the B13&U grade, having trailed for the the entire match bar the closing 90 seconds. In the equivalent Girls grade, Galway's Sadbh Ni Flaithearta retained her crown with a 25-12 win over club mate Skylyn O'Malley Walsh.
Kilkenny also took the B15&U title as Billy Drennan produced some sensational performances, including a 31-1 final win over Wexford's Josh Kavanagh, in a repeat of the 2016 13&U final. Tyrone's Caitlin Conway was a 21-11 winner in the G15&U Final over Mayo's Claire Reynolds.
The third major boys title of the day for Kilkenny went to Eoin Brennan, who defeated Roscommon's Michael Egan 19-11 in the final. In the same girls grade, Armagh's Megan McCann held off a mid game comeback from Kildare's Leah Doyle to eventually win 18-11.
The final match of the day was arguably the best of the tournament, as Tyrone's Sean Kerr somehow clawed back a 13-6 deficit in his B19&U Final to Galway's Jamie Kelly to level the match at 13-13 at the end of time. A thrilling tiebreak ensued as Kerr prevailed 5-2.
GAA Handball would like to pay special thanks to all the volunteer referees and tournament desk helpers, who's support throughout the weekend was invaluable!