Record entry at county handball championships

Handball

The Cavan 40x20 county handball championships took place over the last two weekends in Kingscourt and saw a very high standard of play and over 150 entrants between juveniles and adults, a record total.

In the adult championships, pride of place went to Cormac McMahon (Kingscourt), who defeated clubmate Joe Dillon in the Senior Singles final to retain his county title.

McMahon found his groove as the match wore on and, serving well and shooting the ball at every opportunity, he ran out a 15-6, 15-8 winner.

The win sets Cormac up well for a tilt at the Ulster Junior Singles title while Joe, who won the All-Ireland Junior Singles last year, steps up to the Intermediate grade in 2024.

McMahon beat Conor Owens 15-6, 15-14 in the semi-final, with Dillon coming through a tiebreaker against Patrick Clerkin (St Pat’s).

The Junior A Singles title went to Kingscourt’s Niall McMahon, last year’s Junior B winner. McMahon rallied from behind to overcome former county footballer Ryan McCormack in the final.

McCormack led most of the way in game one but got stuck on 13 and McMahon eventually edged it before finding his range in the second to run out a 15-14, 15-6 winner.

The Junior B Singles is usually the most competitive grade and this year was no different. In an all-Virginia final, Killinkere footballer Michael Smith picked up his first handball silverware as he got the better of the experienced Vincent Mulvey.

Smith survived an 11-8 tiebreaker in his quarter-final against Kingscourt youngster Charlie McCormack in mid-week but didn’t drop a game thereafter. He defeated Darragh Gunn in straight games in the semi-final before edging Mulvey on a 15-12, 15-7 scoreline in the final.

Mulvey had produced a terrific performance to get past recent Division 2 Winter League champion Sean Óg Gargan in a tiebreaker in his semi-final.

The Junior C grade saw Kingscourt’s Micheál Gargan defeat Drumlane footballer Donal O’Connor in a well-contested final.

Meanwhile, the juvenile championships were a resounding success, with huge numbers and a high standard of play in both the A and B grades.

In the Girls U10 grade, Katie Burns defeated Georgina Rooney 11-3, 11-6 in the B final, with Sarah Reilly beating Mia Ludzeneince in the A final.

Darcy McCormack defeated Maeve Shields 11-3, 11-3 in the Girls U12 B decider while top honours went to A winner Katie Hughes, who was a 11-6, 11-9 victor over Sophie Yore.

In the Girls U14 B final, Sorcha Kieran came out on top 11-3, 11-5 against Lucy Morgan.

The Girls U14 A grade was a round robin which saw Aobhinn Callaghan take gold, Katie Crosby silver and Alannah McKenna bronze.

The Boys grades were outstanding also. The U10 B title went to Eoin Kieran, who beat Kian Clarke 11-1, 11-3.

In the U10 A final, Caolan Byrne defeated Ronan Finnegan 11-3, 11-4. Ronan had edged past Conor Carolan 8-11, 11-8, 11-10 in the semi-final in what was the best match of the weekend.

In the Boys U12 B final, Darragh McElroy defeated Jao Silva in three games, 11-9, 10-11, 11-8.

In the corresponding A final, Ehsanullah Ahmanzai defeated Max Finnegan 11-3, 11-4.

In the U14 A final, Olubube Azubuike got the better of Mikey Ferncombe 11-2, 11-3. In the B final in that garde, Sean Cheung beat Killian Ward 11-3, 11-4.

The Boys U16 grade was a round robin and saw Oisin Shiels take the title, with Patrick McKeon the runner-up and Reece O’Reilly in third place.

The committee would like to thank all those who helped out including organisers Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan and in particular the referees for the juvenile championships, namely Declan McMahon, Charlie McCormack, Raymond Cunningham, Cormac McMahon, Brendan McCormack, Conor McMahon, Sean Óg Gargan, Gavin Sheenan, Martin Farrelly, Alan Smith and Niall McMahon.

Clubs who wish to start a handball programme are encouraged to contact any member of the Cavan handball committee. There is coaching assistance available from Croke Park’s Regional Development Officers and lots of local competition for adults and children of all levels.

Thanks also to Cavan county board for providing medals for the championships and to Kingscourt Handball Club for hosting both weekends.

See this week's print edition for full photo gallery from juvenile finals.