Locals travel to New York for World Wallball Championships

Both Cavan and Monaghan will be represented at the World Wallball Championships which serve off this week in New York.

Wallball, previously known as ‘One Wall’, is a fast-growing handball code which came to prominence in the Depression era in the Big Apple, which is regarded as the ‘Mecca’ of the game.

Making the trip from this region to compete in the top grade are Kingscourt clubman Ben Devlin and Bawn’s Gavin Coyle. Coyle, an elite player in the 4-Wall game, is also a very talented wallball player while Devlin is one of the leading wallball players in the country.

Also in action will be Monaghan Harps man Eoghan McGinnity, who is in the B Singles and Open Doubles and Masters players Paul Cassidy (Tydavnet) and Carol McKeown (Corduff).

But all eyes will be on Devlin as he takes on some icons of the game. A native of Louth, Ben transferred to the Kingscourt club last year and has enjoyed tremendous success already, notably landing the All-Ireland Wallball Senior Singles title a fortnight ago.

Devlin produced an excellent performance to defeat Tyrone’s Sean Kerr 15-10, 15-5 having earlier seen off Team Ireland player Fiachra Ó Dúill in the semi-final.

The victory was particularly significant for Devlin, who admitted he had struggled at the recent Irish Wallball Nationals in Galway.

For the full story, pick up this week's Anglo-Celt.