Mullahoran star handballer Paul Brady is on track for a historic four in a row of All- Ireland Senior Singles titles following a hugely impressive demolition of Antrim's Ricky McCann in Saval, Co. Down last Saturday. After an unusually shaky start, Brady found his groove against McCann and turned in his most potent display of the season to date to take the opening set 21-3. The former Cavan and Ulster footballer's power serving and precise fly shots - particularly when pinning McCann in the back court - had the Gort na Mona man under constant pressure. McCann, who is ranked in the top ten in the world, mounted a comeback of sorts in the second game but could still only make 14 points as Brady's offensive game proved far too strong. In the other semi-final, Tony Healy of Cork defeated Eoin Kennedy 21-10, 21-6 to set up an eagerly awaited final clash with Brady. While the Cavan man has been phenomenally successful in recent seasons, Healy is a very tough competitor who has beaten all of the world's top players over the past five years. "The Gunner", the fans favourite due to his uncompromising, all-out attacking style, has held the upper hand over the Corkman in championships for the past four years and will be hoping to land his fifth senior singles crown. Prior to that, however, Brady and his doubles partner Michael Finnegan (Kings-court) will take on Healy and Colm Jordan in the All-Ireland senior doubles semi-final as they look to land their fifth championship in six years. As former World and US champions, the Cavan pair have the edge in experience and with Finnegan likely to dominate Jordan on the right, they will fancy their chances of booking their final spot for the sixth successive season. In other news, St. Patrick's up-and-coming Patrick Clerkin sealed his place in the All- Ireland 40 x 20 Junior B singles final last weekend with a nail-biting win over Kilkenny's Stephen Barcoe. The Kill powerhouse, who has been playing the best handball of his career in recent weeks, was pipped 21-20 in the opener but showed tremendous character to bounce back, taking the second and third sets 21-15, 21-6 respectively. Clerkin - who recently landed the C singles title in the Irish Nationals in Kilkenny - teams up with doubles partner Padraig Cahill this week-end as they travel to Arklow for the All-Ireland Junior B doubles semi-final against Carlow opposition. They are hoping to take the title back to the Breffni county. Tweet

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