Fr. John Gilhooley and Cavan handball have been mentioned in the same breadth for the last two decades and more. Sadly, as Kevin Carney reports, the relationship seems to have come to an end. For many years, Fr. John Gilhooley was one of the driving forces of the game of handball in county Cavan. From his base in Saint Patrick's College, Cavan, the Leitrim native was the engine which drove the native game way up the popularity charts in the famed Gaelic games-friendly educational establishment. For all of twenty years, Fr. Gilhooley was arguably the public face of the game in the Breffni County. Greatly commited to the sport, he was a key man in the nurturing and developing of the talents of a whole host of aspiring young handballers who were students at the famed Gaelic games-friendly educational establishment. Sadly, the popular priest is no longer involved in his adopted county at any level with the game he obviously loves. And since the Summer of 2004, he is no longer ensconced at St. Pat's. While it would be understandable if Fr. Gilhooley were to leave the coalface of the game on foot of his having gone 'stale' or having lost his enthusiasm for promoting the game, he insists that it isn't the case. Instead it appears that the Cavan town-based curate simply hasn't got the time that he used to have to give the sport his all any more. "When I was based in St. Pat's, I was able to coach the game at lunch hour, after school and almost any evening that the lads wanted to practice. I was living there too so it was all very convenient. Things have changed and I'm now living in Butlersbridge and it's just a case of not having sufficient time anymore to give handball the same sort of time I used to give." It is rumoured that handball's loss is likely to be Butlersbridge GFC's gain but, for now, the son of Drumkeerin is not saying anything on that score. What is indisputable though is that Fr. Gilhooley will be a great loss to handball in county Cavan Sad to say, Fr. Gilhooley has bade farewell to handball at a time when it is in decline in county Cavan. Apart from the fantastic set-up in Kingscourt where the club there can boast facilities the equal of anything in the country, clubs elsewhere in Cavan have become largely stagnant or even non-existent in modern times. Clubs formerly based in Cootehill and Kilnaleck are no longer operating, for instance. Handball in Virginia is really struggling to survive on an organised level. In Mullahoran, the sport no longer captures the imagination of the youngsters either. The game, it appears, is in decline in the Breffni County and there is no one more disappointed at this state of affairs than Fr. John Gilhooley. Unfortunately, for all the successes of Cavan's best handballers, i.e. Paul Brady, Michael Finnegan, Patrick Finnegan, Paul Fitzpatrick etc, the game at grass roots level around the county is stagnating at best. Indeed, while our finest continue to give as good as they get against the best in the world - and in the case of Paul Brady beat them - the fact is that the success of Cavan's creme de la creme of the sport doesn't mirror the health of the game overall in the county. The decline of handball in Cavan is sad but very real. Ten years ago, St. Pat's could boast in the region of 200 handballers all bursting a gut to get an alley to play in at the drop of a hat. Every wall was coveted by the school's handball enthusiasts during their free time. There wasn't enough walls around the college to cater for the demand. However those who graduated from the school of handball excellence at St. Pat's found it next to impossible to continue their love of the game at home because of the non-existence of a club or the absence of a suitable number of adults to get a club up and going. "Clubs come and go in cycles but over recent years the lack of adults coming forward to volunteer their time and give handball the sort of commitment needed has been obvious. And when adults who have been at the fore with some clubs eventually opt out, there isn't always anyone there to take their place," Fr. John opines. In this regard, the rise and rise of handball in county Tyrone is the proof of the pudding that where enough adults can be encouraged to help out, youngsters will prosper on the courts - a case of 'mol and oige and tiocfaidh si'. The small ball game in the O'Neill County is now arguably played on a more widespread basis than in the territory of one-time Ulster kingpins Antrim. Ironically while handball is not being played in county Cavan on the same scale that it was, say, twenty years ago, the standard of handball being played by its best Cavan exponents has never been higher. Paul Brady, after all, didn't win a host of All-Ireland titles and a world title by playing inferior handball and the Finnegans etc have proven their mettle on a consistent basis at national level. A decade ago talk of All-Ireland handball titles coming Cavan's way on an almost annual basis was fanciful in the extreme. Nationally, handball has never boasted such a wealth of handball talent with the likes of our own countymen plus the likes of Tony Healy and Eoin Kennedy more than a match for the one-time peerless Americans. Sadly the present handball heroes in Cavan like the Duxie Walshes and Walter O'Connors of the past on the national scene have never been afforded the same level of media exposure as that lent to the major footballers and hurlers of this nation. Fr. Gilhooley agrees that if ever there was a Gaelic game in dire need of marketing and a higher public profile it is handball. "The top handballers in this country have never got the kind of profile or credit their skills deserved. Their sheer athleticism, range of skills and the level of their commitment and dedication compares with that of any other sports people in any other sport. It's a solo sport which requires a really ferocious level of dedication to get to the very top." Interestingly, Fr. Gilhooley isn't inclined to criticise the GAA for any lack of promotion it may be excused of with regard to handball. Handball may be one of the games under the GAA's umbrella but the former St. Pat's teacher believes that the Irish Handball Council has to look to its own resources, first and foremost, to elevate the game within the public eye. "You can't blame the GAA for handball's ills. I wouldn't point the finger at them (the GAA) because anytime they have been called upon to support handball they have done so. There is a tremendous level of goodwill out there among the GAA fraternity towards handball in Cavan, for instance, but there's just not enough people interested in organising clubs, competitions and so forth. "For the last six-eight years, the absence of a county board to oversee the game of handball in Cavan hasn't helped matters. Ironically, Fr. John was the last chairman of Cavan county handball board before it died a death by a thousand cuts. He believes that the game would benefit from a resurrection of a county handball board but he's not sure that that will be forthcoming in the forseeable future. A past pupil of St. Pats, Cavan - where he first hit an ace in anger - Fr. John was inveigled into getting the coaching of handball up and running in the college when he returned to his alma mater as chaplain in 1986, having formerly spent a year in Virginia Vocational School. He remembers helping out a young Jimmy McKeon (Kingscourt), among others, in those early days of his time in 'Pat's. "The young fellas that are in St. Pat's right now are just as keen to play handball, indoor or outdoor. But it's crucial that they are coached properly if they are to improve their game. It's a great game with a similarily high levels of fitness and skill required. You need two good hands to play it and both sides of your brain are used in playing the game. It would be great if there was a revival of clubs in the county." Tweet

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