Williamstown Handball Club hosted a memorable One Wall Tournament again this year with many old faces returning and some new ones coming along to experience the club’s hospitality.
Play got under way at 7pm on Friday night with juveniles filling all three courts until 10pm when the various grades were whittled down to the last rounds. Saturday saw a mixture of sunshine and showers weather wise, but on the court some of the country’s best handballing talent was to be seen in the juvenile brackets. The skills on show were breathtaking with names like Finn, Yakhyaev, Ó’Dúill, Scollan, Kelly and many more on the lips of both coaches and parents alike. The U16 Boy’s grade saw some of the best talent on show at the weekend and the shear fitness and athleticism was a sight to behold with tiresome rallies and heartbreaking gets all key features of the grade. In the finish there could only be one winner and that accolade went to St. Coman’s Gareth Delaney for 2016. The Boy’s U18 grade saw two future stars of the game reach the final but not before being put to the pin of their collars by the many competitors in this grade. In the final James Prentice from the Ballina Club in Co. Tipperary had just too much for Moycullen’s Diarmuid Mulkerrins and captured the title 15/14, 6/15, 11/7.
In the Ladies ‘B’ final Ellen O’Connor, a long time supporter of the tournament captured the Ladies ‘B’ title which will see her play the senior grade next year. In the final she beat Mayo’s up and coming Shonagh Ruane to claim the title. Again in the Girl’s U14 grade, the talent on show was at a very high level and when the final came around Armagh’s Callíosa Ní Dhúill went head to head against Mayo’s Heather Burke. In a tense affair and with some great shots and gets by both girls, Burke just snatched it at the death and claimed the championship for 2016.
Hope fades as Mulkerrins conquers David.
In the E.M.P. Furniture Ltd Men’s Open final, Martin Mulkerrins faced off against Offaly’s David Hope. With Mulkerrins’ reputation going before him, many thought this was a foregone conclusion but as his name suggests, David was hopeful he could pull off a surprise. In the first game Martin raced into an 8/0 lead and at this point the crowd began to think it was all over. However David came back into the tie steadily and closed the gap in the first game to 9/7. It was side in side out with martin picking off a few vital aces in between times and he eventually took the first game convincingly enough 15/7. The second game started like the first and Martin again picked off scores for fun, using his power and accuracy to lay down a 6/0 lead. David did not give up and fought back to go one up at 7/6 and again at 11/10. David’s serve was causing Martin some problems and the Offaly man was showing he could fly kill as good as the rest of them. When push came to shove, David held his nerve and closed out the second game 15/14 to cause a tiebreak. Martin was not going to be denied his maiden Williamstown One Wall Open Title and he wasted little time in the tiebreak to use his fitness to full advantage as he pushed David from side to side before sealing victory on an 11/2 score line.
Tully rises to the top of the pile.
In the Hubert Deane and Associates Ltd. Ladies Open final, Roscommon’s Fiona Tully took on Claregalway’s up and coming star Niamh Heffernan in a terrific final. Having beaten 2014 Ladies ‘B’ Champion Sinéad Ní Ainle, in the semi – final, Niamh was in high spirits going into this match. However, as always with Fiona, she can produce fantastic handball in the blink of an eye, and unfortunately for Niamh, this is exactly what happened. Fiona took the first game 15/9 after some outstanding handball from both girls. Niamh looked sharp and used her agility on the court to help keep in touch with the dominant Tully. This unfortunately was not enough and Fiona eased through the second game taking the Hubert Deane Ladies Open Title for 2016. The future is bright for these to players and I have no doubt that they will meet again in many tournaments in the coming years.
Here is a list of all the results:
Glenamaddy Credit Union U11 Boys: Winner Fiachra Ó’Duill, R-Up: Irslam Yakhyaev
Burke Motors Williamstown U11 Girls: Winner: R-Up:
David Burke Electrical U12Boys: Winner: Kyle Jordan, R-Up: Cormac Finn
Sparkey’s Discount Store U12 Girls: Winner: Skylynn O’Malley Walsh, R-Up: Carragh Kennedy
Michael Whyte Engineering U14 Boys: Winner: Cormac Scollan, R-Up: Mikey Kelly
Wispy’s Discount Store U14 Girls: Winner: Heather Burke, R-Up: Cailliosa Ní Dhúill
APK Architects and Engineers U16 Boys: Winner: Gareth Delaney, R-Up Fionn Cusack
Tarmeys Tavern U18Boys: Winner: James Prentice, R-Up: Diarmuid Mulkerrins
DG Roofing and Cladding Ladies ‘B’: Winner: Ellen O’Connor, R-Up: Shonagh Ruane
Kennedy’s Bar Combined Masters: Winner: Brian Havern R-Up: Frank Macken
Hubert Deane and Associates Ladies Open: Winner: Fiona Tully, R-Up Naimh Heffernan.
E.M.P. FURNITURE LTD Men’s Open: Winner: Martin Mulkerrins, R-Up: David Hope
Other sponsors that sponsored our tournament are:
Celtic School of Motoring, Noel Reilly Crash Repairs, Dolan’s Bar, Dr. Sandra Lewis, Chiropractor, The Big Bite and Star Trophy Centre Ballymoe.
Williamstown Handball Club would like to thanks all the participants who came from near and far to compete in our annual tournament. We thank our sponsors sincerely as without their support we would not be able to host our tournament. We are indebted to the many parents and juvenile members of our club who helped out in so many ways over the weekend, by making tea and refreshments, by refereeing, by running between courts and tidying up each evening. We would also like to thank our sister club, Williamstown GAA Club, for the use of the Complex, without which, we would not be able to host our tournament. So until next year
go n-éirí an bóthar leat and keep playing handball!!