GAA Handball All Ireland Round-Up
The GAA Handball O’Neills All Ireland 40×20 Championships concluded at the weekend with a major programme of games, including the Mens Senior Doubles and Ladies Senior Singles deciders.
Single ace win for Cavan in Senior Doubles decider
It will be a long while before a finals crowd will be treated to such an absorbing Senior Doubles championship decider as that which was served up in Cappagh on Saturday afternoon. Cavan’s Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan eventually claimed their eighth title in all and third in a row in the series when they claimed a last gasp ace to deny Meath legend, Tom Sheridan, and his partner, Brian Carroll, by 21-20 in the deciding game.
It was the second final of the afternoon programme which ended on that scoreline and on this occasion the standard of play was breathtaking to say the least. The power pass and kill shots which won the rallies were actually overshadowed by the incredible retrieving exhibited in all three games, with Brian Carroll in particular exhibiting astonishing speed and reflexes in that sphere.
The Royal county combination, chasing a first 40×20 doubles crown as a pairing, won the opening game 21-9 and the teams were sitting level at 11-11 midway through the second game following an explosive 33 minutes of action. Brady’s power serving then kicked into overdrive though and they hit the telling shots to pull clear 21-11 and set up a tie break game.
Sheridan delivered some outstanding early corner killshots in the third and they opened up a 6-1 lead before Finnegan and Brady rallied to level at 8-8. Carroll’s three brilliant returns from Brady’s power kills helped them into a 12-8 lead and, while the Cavan men failed to score with two hands, Meath then pulled 15-8 in front and looked to be moving ever closer to that senior gold.
Six aces in succession from Brady and Finnegan then made it 14-15 but amazingly the game again turned on its head and the 2012 title seemed destined for Meath when they then hit five points in a row to make it 20-15. However, the reigning champions closed with four aces, two provided by awesome Brady serves and a fantastic long range corner kill from Finnegan making it 19-20. The Royal County partnership then regained serve and will only reflect on what may have been as they failed to get that winning ace with their two hands and Brady and Finnegan claimed the last two aces for the championship title on a 21-20 scoreline.
Brady was naturally elated with his latest triumph, “You don’t get any closer than what we had today. We were possibly fortunate in the end but we got the vital shots when it mattered and delighted to win this senior title.”
A fantastic conclusion to the 2012 Adult 40×20 Championships and one which will be remembered for some time for the outstanding levels of skill, pace, power and retrieving.
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Shannon reclaims Senior crown
Antrim’s Fiona Shannon has returned to the pinnacle of irish ladies handball following her All Ireland senior final win over reigning champion, Kerry’s Maria Daly, on Saturday in Cappagh.
This always had the makings of a terrific contest and it looked very good for Daly early on as she produced a fantastic array of shots, particularly her long range left-handed killshots. The Ballymcelligot player, chasing her third successive title in the series, opened up a commanding 8-1 lead but from there Shannon hunted down every ball and gradually began to get back into contention. They were eventually level at 10-10 and the St Paul’s player moved firmly into the driving seat as she went on to take the first 21-14.
That set the tone for the beginning of the second game and Shannon pushed ahead into a 15-4 advantage. The Kerry player was not going to concede her crown so easily though and delivered a series of superb killshots to get back into the game and was serving at 15-19. The final few aces of play actually took 17 minutes to decide the outcome of the game and the Antrim player was 20-16 in front and had 8 serves at that final ace before finally securing the honours by 21-17.
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Clare win minor thriller
The 2012 GAA Handball All Ireland Minor Doubles championship concluded with a dramatic title decider in Cappagh on Saturday afternoon. Following two hours of absorbing handball it was the Clare partnership of Colin Crehan and Niall Bolton who claimed the honours with just a single ace to spare, defeating Tyrone’s Gabhainn McCrystal and Pól Clarke by 21-20 in the third.
This was a brilliant encounter involving two young pairings who are all still eligible for the grade in twelve months time. Crehan was in imperious form in the opening game and his pinpoint long range accuracy proved decisive as they ran out winners by 21-12 before McCrystal and Clarke seized the initiative to take control in the second. The silky skills of McCrystal and the retrieving of Clarke saw them pull away to lead 15-6 in that game but they had to hold off a determined rally from the Banner County lads to set up a tie-break with a 21-17 win.
In the third game, the Clare pairing began to find their range and they transformed the look of the tie again when they opened up a seemingly unassailable 15-6 lead. However, the Tyrone players battled gamely and soon clawed their way back into contention, winning some fantastic rallies and actually pushed ahead to lead 20-18, and serve for the championship. Clare regained serve however and three exceptional serves from Crehan was enough to see them close out the tie and claim the 2012 honours by 21-20.
RESULTS:
GAA Handball O’Neills All Ireland ADULT 40×20 Championship Finals
Saturday 7th April, in Cappagh, Limerick:
Minor Doubles Final: Clare (Colin Crehan/Niall Bolton) dft Tyrone (Pol Clarke/Gabhainn McCrystall) 21-12, 17-21, 21-20
Ladies Senior Singles Final: Antrim (Fiona Shannon) dft Kerry (Maria Daly) 21-14, 21-17
Mens SD Final: Cavan (Paul Brady/Michael Finnegan) dft Meath (Brian Carroll/Tom Sheridan) 9-21, 21-11, 21-20
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Ulster dominate in All Ireland Juvenile Finals arena
The cream of Irish Juvenile handball converged on O’Loughlin Gaels’ HC, Kilkenny, on Easter Sunday, for a fantastic day of GAA Handball All Ireland 40×20 Championship Finals. The 2012 roll of honour for the 40×20 court was completed on a day when a host of rising young stars of the game cemented their status as among the best in Ireland and beyond in a hugely exciting World Championship year.
The terrific skill and sportsmanship on view was highly impressive and the packed stands in both courts were treated to a series of first class games in another brilliantly positive weekend for the sport and the association.
It proved to be a very big occasion for Ulster counties too as the northern province secured half of the All Ireland titles on offer with Tyrone having their best finals day in history, with 4 brilliant All Ireland Juvenile Championship wins.
Those included a fantastic Under 14 singles triumph for Brackey club player, Sean Kerr, who became only the second player from the O’Neill County to win this blue ribband title, last won by Tyrone in 1984. He also had to display a very high level of skill and character to claim the honours on a 15-13, 15-13 scoreline in probably the match of the day against another gifted young player from Tipperary, Jason English.There is no question that both young players are set to figure very prominently in the years ahead at the highest level of the sport.
The red Hand County also followed up on the day with a fine win in the Under 16 Doubles championship, when Johnny Woods and Ryan Mullan teamed up for an eye-catching win over Kilkenny’s talented combination of Brian Mahon and Emmett Landy. Pauric Mullan and Jack Campbell then teamed up to take the Under 15 doubles championship honours back to Tyrone and they secured a quarter of the titles on offer on the day when Maeve Mcelduff and Aoife Kelly served up a very convincing performance to capture the Under 16 Girls doubles championship gold medals.
Tyrone’s neighbours, Armagh, also had their best ever day in the Juvenile finals arena when they picked up a hat-trick of impressive title wins too. The Orchard County enjoyed a clean sweep in the Girls Under 14 grade when firstly Niamh Coleman denied Kerry’s Aileen Twomey in a three game thriller, winning out 15-8 in the deciding game in another of the best games of the series. Armagh followed up with a commanding display in the Girls Under 14 doubles final as Aoibhinn Henderson and Alana Doran secured gold with a tremendous showing to defeat Clare’s Clodagh Nash and Doireann Murphy. Brian McAnenly defied the odds in the Boys Under 15 SIngles final to make it three wins for Armagh from as many final appearances as he denied hotly fancied young Wexford star, Oisin Foley, in an absorbing contest winning 15-14 and 15-5 after losing the opening game by 15-12.
The blue ribband titles in the Juvenile Championships are the Boys and Girls Under 16 SIngles events and two of the most exciting young players to have emerged on the Irish scene in years entered both finals as very hot favourites to prevail. Galway’s Ciana Ní Churraoin was again in unstoppable form in her Under 16 final against Kilkenny’s skillful Kirsty Maher in two straight games and Clare’s Colin Corbett added another All Ireland gold to his glittering juvenile CV as he overcame Monaghan’s Eugene McGeogh 21-5, 21-16. Corbett certainly looks to be a name that will be up in lights at all the major events in the future but the Monaghan teenager gave a brilliant account of himself in a first final appearance and looks destined for an exciting time ahead in the game also.
Limerick enjoyed two title wins on the day when firstly Nigel O Callaghan and Evan Murphy denied Tyrone a five-timer as they defeated Matthew McCartan and Shane McCrystal by 15-6 in the deciding third game of the Under 14 doubles final. Hospital club’s Padraig Quish made it a double success for the county when he had to work hard against a very talented young Antrim player, Jordan O’Neill, to claim the Under 17 singles crown. The doubles championship in that grade also went north as Down’s Pat Havern and Stephen Digney, from the Saval club, emerged impressive winners against Cork’s Michael Dunne and Aidan Kerins.
Cork did pick up a gold medal on the day when Katie Fleming overcame Sligo’s Aoife Quinn in the Girls Under 15 Singles final while the most convincing winner of the day came in the Girls Under 17 singles final as Kildare’s Katie Dagg overcame Tyrone’s Zara Girvan in convincing fashion to take that medal to the Leixlip club. Galway’s second title win of the afternoon came in the Under 15 doubles when Galway’s Heather Spellman and Elaine Mitchell overcame Kerry’s Aisling O Brien and Michaela O Donoghue by 15-3, 15-10.
The host county did enjoy an All Ireland success in the last final of the day when Kilkenny’s Mary Buggy and Ashling Maher enjoyed a thrilling three game victory over Mayo’s Shona Ruane and Clare Shannon, winning 11-7 in the tie-break.
All Ireland Juvenile 40×20 Championship title spread 2012:
Tyrone – 4 titles, Armagh – 3 titles, Galway – 2 titles, Limerick – 2 titles, Clare – 1 title, Cork – 1 title, Down – 1 title, Kilkenny – 1 title, Kildare – 1 title
RESULTS:
GAA Handball All Ireland Juvenile 40×20 Championship Finals
BU14 Singles: Tyrone (Sean Kerr) dft Tipperary (Jason English) 15-13, 15-13
BU14 Doubles: Limerick (Nigel O Callaghan/Evan Murphy) dft Tyrone (Matthew McCartan/Shane McCrystall) 15-6, 8-15, 15-6
BU15 Singles: Armagh (Brian McAnenly) dft Wexford (Oisin Foley) 12-15, 15-14, 15-5
BU15 Doubles: Tyrone (Jack Campbell/Pauric Mullan) dft Kilkenny (Padraig Cooney/Niall Walsh) 15-14, 15-4
BU16 Singles: Clare (Colin Corbett) dft Monaghan (Eugene McGeough) 21-5, 21-16
BU16 Doubles: Tyrone (Johnny Woods/Ryan Mullan) dft Kilkenny (Emmet Landy/Brian Mahon) 21-10, 21-9
BU17 Singles: Limerick (Padraig Quish) dft Antrim (Jordan O Neill) 21-8, 21-10
BU17 Doubles: Down (Pat Havern/Stephen Digney) dft Cork (Michael Dunne/Aidan Kerins) 21-7, 21-5
GU14 Singles: Armagh (Niamh Coleman) dft Kerry (Aileen Twomey) 11-15, 15-9, 15-8
GU14 Doubles: Armagh (Aoibhinn Henderson/Alana Doran) dft Clare (Clodagh Nash/Doireann Murphy) 15-4, 15-11
GU15 Singles: Cork (Katie Fleming) dft Sligo (Aoife Quinn) 15-10, 15-4
GU15 Doubles: Galway (Heather Spellman/Elaine Mitchell) dft Kerry (Aisling O Brien/Michaela O Donoghue) 15-3, 15-10
GU16 Singles: Galway (Ciana Ní Churraoin) dft Kilkenny (Kirsty Maher) 21-2, 21-3
GU16 Doubles: Tyrone (Maeve McElduff/Aoife Kelly) dft Clare (Natasha Coughlan/Michelle Nihill) 21-1, 21-1
GU17 Singles: Kildare (Kate Dagg) dft Tyrone (Zara Girvan) 21-0, 21-1
GU17 Doubles: Kilkenny (Mary Buggy/Ashling Maher) dft Mayo (Shona Ruane/Clare Shannon) 21-9, 12-21, 11-7
