The highly sought after All-Ireland Open Club title returned to the West of Ireland last weekend as expected with Mayo's Ballaghaderreen taking down former winners, Antrim's Gort Na Mona in emphatic style.

Gort Na Mona's combination of Ricky McCann, Paddy Crothers, John McGarry, Eddie Mallon and Paul Graham had shown good promise in their dismissal of Leinster champions, Coolboy of Wicklow in the semi-final but suffered heavily to the hands of the champions by a 43 point margin in the decider.

Ballaghaderreen's blend of experience and youth (Dessie Keegan, Joe McCann, Vinnie Moran, Paul Flynn and Stephen Cooney) helped guide the Mayo men to a staggering fifteenth crown in Kingscourt. The newest member of this well balanced and thriving club side, Cooney, was thrilled with the victory.

"I think this has to be one of the greatest achievements in our club to date and it is a testament to the late John Gaffney's hard work in our club. We would not be here without him," said Cooney.

"Our team actually played very well on the day and that never has been a problem through the years as every player on the team is ready to give everything to win. We pick our teams on how our players feel and nobody is safe on the team which is great because nobody takes their position for granted and has to work hard for their place."

It was recently crowned Golden Gloves champion, Joe McCann who set the Westerners on their way and that helped shape the final destination of the 2011 Open 40x20 club gong.

"Joe (Mc Cann) was the inform player and had a tremendous first game against Ricky (McCann), which proved to be our platform for the rest of the games. We were also fortunate that we were fresher than the other team in the final as we did not have a semi-final."

A rejuvenated Cooney after a summer break has enjoyed fine progress in 2011 with particular reference to a semi-final appearance in the opening senior ranking event of the 40x20 season in Belfast in October.

"Our aim is to take each tournament at a time and hopefully be able to do well in the next 60x30 club championship. I felt my year in 2011 went well. I took a much needed break in the summer as I felt my motivation slipping as I was fatigued from playing so many competitions. It has made me smarter in training and is keeping me fresh for games."

"I would like to thank all the lads for all their efforts put into the open championship and congratulate Paul and Nicola Flynn on their new baby girl Holly, our newest member of the Ballaghaderreen handball club."

RESULT: 2011 OPEN CLUB 40x20 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL: Sunday 4th December 2011, in Kingscourt, Cavan: Ballaghaderreen, Mayo (Dessie Keegan, Joe McCann, Vinnie Moran, Paul Flynn & Stephen Cooney) dft Gort an Mona 81-38. Tweet

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