2011 saw Paul Brady again confirm his status as the greatest 40x20 handballer to ever grace the courts of Ireland when he saw off the challenge of Armagh's Charly Shanks in April to claim his eighth All-Ireland Senior Singles title. The Mullahoran star's triumph was one of many which Cavan handball experienced during the past 12 months.

They say timing is everything. But for Paul Brady the timing of this year's All-Ireland 40x20 Senior Singles Championship final couldn't have been worse, as he chased his of claiming a record eighth title.
Brady had impressed on route to the final, after coasting through the Ulster championship and defeating Westmeath's Robbie McCarthy in the semis, but in the run up to the decider on April 17 against number two-ranked Charly Shanks he sustained a badly-broken and rotated middle finger on his left hand whilst of football duty for Mullahoran. Effectively, his finger was turned to 90 degrees and fractured in two places, leaving major doubts over his fitness heading into the showdown with Shanks in Abbeylara.

The World Champion hand under a week to prepare after discovering that his finger was in fact broken, or he would otherwise have to concede his crown to the Armagh man. In the end, it wasn't an option to the determined Mullahoran man as he braved through the pain barrier in search of a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland crown.

Brady, who had his finger heavily strapped during the course of the game, looked off the pace early on as Shanks surged into an early 9-1, which was alarming for the Cavan contingent which made the short trip to Abbeylara to cheer on the 'Gunner'. At 12-3 down, questions were really being asked of the defending champion, but he came up with the answers and battled back into contention to level matters at 16. He pulled off some incredible finishes to take the first game 21-17, much to the delight of his supporters in the packed to capacity Longford venue.

In the second game, the world number one produced one of the most dominant performances of his career to date, as he brushed aside the challenge of the talented Armagh man on a resounding score-line of 21-3 to re-write the history books by setting a new Irish record, having equalled that of Kilkenny legend, Michael 'Ducksy' Walsh in 2010.
Afterwards an emotional and exhausted Brady said: "I've been training for this day for 12 or 13 years; it was a long-term goal and words really can't describe what it means to me."

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster this week and up until today," he added, "I really wasn't sure I was going to be able to play with my finger, but I had great medical people looking after me. My focus is straight onto the doubles now so it leaves little time to digest today's win; that's handball I suppose, but I'm thrilled with the victory. It's a special one."
The win marked an incredible week for Cavan GAA, with the county's Under 21 footballers having captured the Ulster title with a thrilling victory over Tyrone in Enniskillen the previous Wednesday and booked themselves into an All-Ireland at Croke Park in the meantime…and there was still more success to come on the handball front.

Just a week later, Brady would team up with old compatriot Michael Finnegan to represent the Breffni County against Meath duo Tom Sheridan and Brian Carroll in the All-Ireland 40x20 Senior Doubles final in Kingscourt.
The Cavan pair set the tempo from the very start, with Finnegan serving well and shooting some terrific kills to help the hosts claim the first game 21-10. The second game would prove a much tighter affair as Cavan led by 14-10 when Meath rallied with Sheridan shooting for eight unanswered points to put the Leinster men in a commanding position. Cavan regrouped well, with Finnegan covering the right corner superbly and Brady pulling off some devastating kills to leave things at 20 all. The sides went in and out of the service box twice from there, before Brady hit a pressure kill to wrap up the title for Cavan.
In the weeks after the victory, it became more and more clear to Brady that he would be unable to partake in the Irish Nationals as he looked to make a full recovery from his finger injury. It meant that the defending champion's long unbeaten run in the competition had come to an end, nor would he representing Ireland in the US Nationals.

By August, however, Brady was back in the court with Finnegan this time contesting in unfamiliar territory in the All-Ireland 60x30 Senior Doubles Championship. There they scored another win over Royal duo Sheridan and Carroll, whom are regarded as big alley specialists, by 21-16, 21-18. In the semi-final, the Cavan pair would eventually fall to defeat against Mayo's Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann. But with a positive first impression made in a new code, and Brady returning to full fitness, the sky still remains the limit for the Cavan pair that have achieved so much to date.

Record-breaking entry in county championships
In late January, over 70 handballers took part in the fifth annual Cavan 40x20 championships in Kingscourt's outstanding facilities, where the main event saw doubles partners Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan meet in the senior final.

With grades ranking from Under 12 up to senior, the weekend threw up its fair share of surprises across the grades, but on the senior front it was the same old story as Mullahoran dual star Brady defeated Kingscourt counterpart Finnegan in style in the Sunday final. Brady was pushed all the way though by his opponent, as the decider was forced to a tie-breaker after the World Champion had taken the first game on a 21-10 score-line. In the second game, Finnegan came out firing, serving well and shooting some spectacular kill-shots to clinch a 21-11 win. The third game saw Brady, who had just returned to training after a six-month break, up the intensity on his doubles partner immensely though and while Finnegan was unlucky to "skip" some of his attempted kill-shots, the world number one would end up taking the title on a comfortable 11-2 score-line.

In the Junior A final, Killygarry's Padraig Cahill, who overcame rising local star Joe Dillion Jr in his semi-final by 11-10 in a tie-breaker, had an impressive win over Ryan McCormack, who himself had notable wins over Eddie Halligan and Jimmy McKeon on route to the final, by 21-8, 21-8. In the Junior B grade there were 16 entries and in the end it was 18-year-old left-hander Marcus Sheridan that came through the tough field to defeat Shane Briody of Ballyhaise in the final and secure his promotion to the Junior A grade. In the Minor final, Joe Dillion Jr captured the title with victory over Ballyconnell teenager Cathal Sheridan, while the Under 16 decider turned out to be a thriller between Ben Conaty and Cian McManus, which saw the latter clinch the title after an airtight tie-breaker which finished 11-10 in his favour. The gutsy Ballyconnell lad also went on to take the Under 14 crown after defeating 12-year-old Stephen Smith 15-7, 15-8. The Under 12 Singles title would go to the host club, with talented 10-year-old Conrad Martin defeating Jamie Reilly in the final to round off what was a hugely successful event.

Cavan impress at One-Wall Nationals
A strong squad of players from the St Patrick's handball club in Cavan town produced some superb displays at this year's Irish One Wall Nationals in Breaffy House, Castlebar, where there was another record entry for the vastly popular competition which attracted players from the USA, England and Puerto Rico.

Of the eight players that competed, seven came through their respective first round games, with the one who didn't - Ballyhaise speedster Shane Briody - bouncing back to win three matches en route to the C Plate final. While he suffered defeat in the final, Briody would go on to enjoy outstanding success as the season grew on by winning the Ulster 60x30 Junior B Singles title, before adding to his silverware collection in August when he teamed up with Cavan Gaels' Marcus Sheridan to defeat Down in the Ulster 60x30 Junior B Doubles final in Kingscourt. Sheridan himself had a strong campaign in Castlebar, where he won the Challenger title in 2010, by recording three victories in the C grade before being narrowly beaten in the semi-final.

However, the top performance of the weekend would go to another Sheridan, as Ballyconnell teenager Cathal, winner of the 40x20 Nationals 17 and Under B Singles title, overcame the odds in his first round game of the Under 18 Singles to see off Kildare's Niall O'Connor. Considered one of the best prospects in the country, O'Connor struggled to cope with Sheridan's angled serves and fly-kills as the Kildallan dual player played the best handball of his career to dump out the rising Leixlip star 10-6 in a ten-minute timed game. Closely behind Sheridan's performance was that of Paul Fitzpatrick, who shocked Mayo's Joe McCann in his first round game of the Open. The Redhills man ran out a deserving 17-13 winner thanks to some clever serving and over-powering his opponent in the front court. Fitzpatrick's run came to an end though when he met Puerto Rican Wally Armaro in the next round, as the would-be beaten finalist put forth a spectacular display to some through 31-10, and from there he went on to the decider where he would lose out to Herman Mendez.

Munterconnacht unveil superb
new facilities
In August, the Munterconnacht GAA club officially opened their new outstanding facilities, which included a state-of-the-art 40x20 handball/racketball court. The club's new facilities overall were a running track with lighting, covered spectator stand, gymnasium, handball/racketball court, male and female dressing rooms, meeting room, treatment room and kitchen, while the car park was resurfaced and surrounds were also put in place. Approximately €450,000 was spent on the development at the grounds. Earlier in the year World Hanball Champion Paul Brady played doubles partner Michael Finnegan in an exhibition match which was a memorable day for the new Munterconnacht handball club, which is chaired by Pat Taylor. Tweet

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