Kells Handball enjoys memorable year
November 30, 2008
For years the famed Meath Handball club of Kells was to the fore in the Irish Interclub handball scene and known as a force to be reckoned with. In recent years however, the club has been forced to bow to the supremacy of four time champions, Mayo's Ballaghaderreen. But, after some serious soul-searching, the club collected the MACSPORTS Interclub Open title for the first time in five years.
It was a love affair which lasted almost five hours, played at two venues due to condensation building up in the initial venue, and had all the highs and lows sport brings.
Meath stalwart, Tom Sheridan opened the sides attack with a 21-17, 21-18 win over Ballaghaderreen's Joe McCann. Sheridan, a former All-Ireland Senior Singles champion, fought back from a poor start to take the first game, while McCann notched off aces in both games to keep his side in contention.
The doubles match saw a meeting of Kells pairing Carl Browne and Walter O'Connor, and the men from the West, Paul Flynn and Vinnie Moran. Flynn and Moran were credited with pulling the Mayo side into the final, but the strong Meath pairing were in top form and after some clinical finishing, eventually took a 21-8, 21-16 victory. This left the Royal side with 25 points to spare going into the last game, where number four seed for the All-Ireland Senior Championpship, Dessie Keegan, was hoping to pull victory from the jaws of defeat against Kells opponent, Brian Carroll. In the early stages, it looked possible as he raced into a 12-2 lead. Carroll recomposed himself and picked off aces before losing 21-14, having to make just four points in the second game. He did, to leave the score 102-83, and grant Kells their first All-Ireland Interclub Open title since 2004, when ironically the side also defeated Ballaghaderreen.
Kells: Tom Sheridan, Walter O'Connor, Carl Browne, Brian Carroll, Gary McConnell
Ballaghaderreen: Joe McCann, Vinnie Moran, Paul Flynn, Dessie Keegan
Gary McConnell wins minor All-Ireland
On Saturday 19th April, Gary McConnell sealed his position in the record books as he added his name to the All-Ireland 40x20 Minor Singles Champions list. This outstanding achievement came against a familiar Mayo opponent in Stephen Cooney who fought gallantly through the final only to come up short in the end, 21-3, 21-19.
McConnell had a very impressive run to the final, showing dominance in this division most notably in his semi-final victory over Antrim's Sean Clarke. He opened the first game with similar form shown in the semi-final allowing him to open a considerable gap on his opponent. Cooney struggled as McConnell controlled the pace of the game and the first win looked inevitable for the Meath junior. For the latter part of the first game, Cooney began to settle but it was a little too late as McConnell took the game at 21-2.
The second game was a better spectacle as Cooney found his stride and challenged McConnell in all aspects of the game. The Ballaghaderreen junior controlled the early part of the game and stretched his lead to six aces at 13-7. However McConnell was determined not to let Cooney get too far ahead and fought well to close the gap and tie the match at sixteen aces each. Cooney would once again move ahead of his Kells opponent but could not stay ahead as the match was tied again at 18-18. At this stage, McConnell's determination and class began to shine as he pulled ahead and closed the match at 21-19, earning himself the coveted All-Ireland 40x20 Minor Singles title. It was a well deserved victory for the Kells junior and one which he was delighted to attain. It will surely increase his confidence and add to his drive to achieve success in the future.
"All-Ireland Victory for Meath Duo"
For the tenth time in championship history, An Mhi will be added to the Independent Cup as Tom Sheridan and Brian Carroll, both of Kells Handball Club stormed to victory in the final of the M. Donnelly All-Ireland 60x30 Doubles Championship defeating Mayo duo Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann, 21-12, 21-11, at Croke Park Handball Centre, on Saturday 20th September. The victory increases Sheridan's tally to nine Senior Doubles titles while it was a maiden victory for the young Kells star, Brian Carroll.
The first game lived up to the crowds expectations with both teams playing with a lot of passion and fighting for every ace. This meant that during the early stages, neither team was allowed to open a gap until Meath pushed ahead from 8-8 to 13-8, providing themselves the first stepping stone to claiming the first game. However their Mayo opponents began to etch away at the Royal side's lead but could only reduce the deficit to three, at 13-10. Meath displayed their determination for victory once again by forcing ahead to 17-10 before relenting the serve and offering a glimpse of hope to Keegan and McCann. This hope was short lived however, as they could only notch up two aces which was as close as they would get, as the Meath duo returned to serve and closed out the game at 21-12.
In the second game, Keegan and McCann began with a new spirit and notched up a 6-0 lead, asking the question of Meath's strength to take victory. To the delight of the Meath support, they answered in volumes by notching up seven consecutive aces to take the lead. After the game, Carroll stated "at this stage I knew we had them" emphasizing the turning point in the game and although their Mayo opponents held a grip on their lead, Carroll was correct as the Meath duo notched another seven unanswered aces to increase their lead to 17-9. Mayo would return to serve on two more occasions but could only manage three more aces to their tally, and would have to settle for silver as the Royal side claimed a well deserved victory on a score-line of 21-12.
The two Kells clubmen were thrilled with the victory with Sheridan stating: "It was fantastic to be back in Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day, and to win was something special. Brian played unbelievable handball and I'm just delighted we came through that."
Most Read Stories