James Dolan, Cian McManus, Ryan Galligan, Pearse Smith Luke O'Dea and James Brady (coach).

Féile silver for rising St Patrick's handballers

High-flying St Patrick's Handball Club added to their impressive underage record when taking silver in Division Three of the Féile na nGael last weekend in Co Clare. The five-man squad, consisting of James Dolan, Cian McManus, Ryan Galligan, Pearse Smith and Luke O'Dea and coached by James Brady, played some superb handball en route to the final, where they were narrowly defeated by Waterford champions Friary-Abbeyside. Killygarry lad Luke O'Dea also came second in the special handball skills competition. St Pat's, who have been training for nine months for this event, defeated Clooney (Co Clare) in the semi-final. The locals, who featured All Ireland champion Fergal Coughlan in their line-up, were hot favourites but Cavan rose to the challenge. Drumlane's James Dolan paired up with Cian McManus - a dual player who also starred for St Pat's in the recent D'Alton Cup win - and they went down 21-14 in a battling performance. In the second game, O'Dea turned in the best performance of his young career to date, serving for '17 aces with an excellent three-corner serve to the left. With Ryan Galligan rock solid on the right, they ran away with a 21-4 win to book their place in the All Ireland final on an overall 35-25 scoreline. The final against a very strong Waterford side was a terrific exhibition of handball. Cavan went down 21-11 in the first but picked it up in the second doubles game, pushing the Munster side all the way before losing 20-21. While defeat was their lot on this occasion, there is no doubt that this young squad has a very bright future in the sport. Unfortunately, Denn's Ben Conaty - a very promising player - was ruled out of this tournament due to injury. Had he been available, St Pat's would probably have gone all the way but, as it was, the achievement of making the final with a young squad, two of whom are underage next year, was remarkable. "We had a great weekend and I was delighted with how the fellas performed," St Pat's coach James Brady told The Anglo-Celt. "All five of the team have worked very hard in training all year and while we didn't win it, this was a great experience and I have no doubt that we will be hearing a lot more about this group of players in the future." In other underage news, coaching is continuing each Saturday for Under 11s and Under 12s. Sixteen players have been put through their paces for the past three weeks. Next on their schedule will be a training session with Paul Brady on Saturday July 3, followed by a tournament the following week.