It was celebrations all the way for Monaghan handball as they picked up three World titles in Portland, Oregon over the last week, to make for the most successful outcome in competitions at inter national level ever. Darren Doherty may have missed out on selection for the official Irish team for the World handball championships but he more than justified his decision to travel and take part when he walked away with 2 world titles. Paraic McKenna was selected on the Ireland team and also laid down a marker when he made it three titles for Monaghan and catapulted the county onto the international handball stage. Darren Doherty is the toast of Portland and the World handball championships being crowned world champion in the One Wall event after a series of thrilling games. Darren did great work to get to the semi final in the One Wall event where he came up against Daniel Curry of Wicklow, a game he won fairly comfortably, 15 -5 and 15 - 7 to reach the final. In the final he was up against another Wicklow man, Wayne Kinsella and this turned out to be a very tough match with both players very nervous and not able to settle on their game. Darren won the first game 15 - 5 but Kinsella came back fighting in the second game. Darren was playing out of his skin and was 14 - 5 up but just could not finish the game off. "I think nerves played a big part in that with Darren hitting wild serves and losing serve on several occasions to allow Kinsella to claw his way back to a scoreline of 15 - 12" Darren's mother Katrina told the Northern Standard. After a couple of time outs and a calming discussion with Pete Larkin, Darren got back on track and kept his cool to finish the second game off and clinch A WORLD TITLE FOR MONAGHAN and give everyone in the Monaghan party at the games a huge boost. There was no big time for celebrations though as Darren then began to concentrate on the 40 x 20 singles and doubles competitions that were scheduled to conclude on Sunday. In other news from the Monaghan camp Terry McElvaney suffered a hamstring injury which hampered him greatly and he was beaten by Dean Corrigan. Paraic McKenna was due to start his matches on Thursday. Pete Larkin was narrowly beaten in the doubles in a tie-breaker but he still has the One Wall event to compete in while John Treanor and Mickey Quinn got a walk over in their first match as their opponents didn't turn up. Pete Larkin and Michael McCarron both played their second games in the 40 x 20 singles. Both played great matches and took their opponents to tie-breakers but it wasn't enough on the day and both were beaten, a result that ends Michael McCarron's interest in the championships as he had only entered in the one competition. Pete Larkin on the other hand still has the One Walls and the 40 x 20 doubles to compete in, with those starting on Thursday last. John Treanor of St. Mellans also competes in the doubles with Mickey Quinn of Armagh. Friday last October 9th saw the doubles matches in the 40 x 20 get under way at the Sunset Athletic club. It was a Monaghan / Clare combination, Darren Doherty and Colin Crehan, who went up against a team from Cork in the 15 and under category and they put in a magnificent performance even though they have not had many doubles games together, and they won the match on a score line of 21-5, 21-5 to move through to the next round against a team from USA. Paraic McKenna and Terry McElvaney competed in the 17 and under doubles, and even though Terry had a hamstring injury, there was never any doubt that they would beat the Alaska team well. The Alaska side deserve great credit as one of their players is a cancer sufferer and is undergoing chemo treatment at the moment. Paraic never lost serve in the first game which the Monaghan lads won on a score line of 21-0. It was a fairly one sided affair and was a very easy victory for the Monaghan duo but the Alaska supporters were very appreciative of the sporting nature of the contest and they organised a big photo session with all four players after the match. Saturday morning last saw Darren Doherty playing Steve Matiasek in the 40 x 20 singles where he played amazing handball, killing the ball with right and left, to completely out-class his opponent to win 21-3 and 21-6, although it was a tougher match than the scores would suggest with many long rallies. That result put Darren into the final against Tyler Stoffel USA but there was concern as he injured his elbow playing doubles with the red ace the previous night but won his match on Saturday morning playing mostly with the left hand. He was getting treatment for the injury which it was hoped would clear up completely as he also had a doubles semi final looming. Paraic McKenna had a great match in his semi-final against Ciaran Malone from Clare and at the end of an exciting contest it went to a tie-breaker which McKenna eventually won to go through to the final where he met Barry Nash from County Clare. Padraig McKenna Powers to Glory in The15 and Under Handball World Championship final. In an intense and tension packed final, St. Mellan's clubman Padraig McKenna powered his way to the world title in an action packed match against Barry Nash from the Tuamgraney club in Co. Clare. In the first game Nash went into a 3-0 lead but McKenna using a lob serve into the left corner, took the score to 3-3 and then moved into an 8-4 lead. Barry came back with accurate kill shots to level at 8-8, at which point Padraig regained serve and with a mixture of passing and corner kill shots went into the lead with 12-8 on the scoreboard. Again Nash came back to level at 12-12 and then went on to lead 17-12. The St. Mellan's player re-focused and playing with power and accuracy drew the game level at 17-17. Nash again came back and went into an 18-17 lead but Padraig (McKenna) regained serve and went on to take the first game 21-18. In the second game McKenna went into a 4-2 lead early on in a match that was very tense at that stage with both players feeling the pain and stress of the previous days action. With scores level at 9-9, Nash forged ahead to lead 13-9, but Padraig came back strongly using a low drive serve into the left corner to bring the score to 13-13 but again the Clare player responded and a good spell saw him lead 16-13. This was the defining time and the Monaghan player fought back to regain serve and brought the score to 16-16 and even in the packed gallery the tension among the spectators was now intense. In the following passages of play the next six points were shared to take the score to 19-19 and things very finely balanced. Padraig McKenna again changed tactics and switched to a lob serve down the left side wall which allowed him to take the next two points and secure the world title for his club, county and Team Ireland to massive applause from the packed gallery. Speaking from Portland Monaghan Handball chair person Katrina Mone spoke of the historic day for Handball in the St. Mellan's Club and Co. Monaghan. "A lot of time has been given by coaches throughout the years since the club's formation in 1974 to bring this day to fruition and this should be a stepping stone to further success in the years ahead as we prepare for the 2012 Handball World Championships which will be held in Ireland. It was just fantastic and Padraig showed great character to come through". 13 AND UNDER HANDBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL. Having defeated Steve Matiasek in the semi final with great flair Emyvale's Darren Doherty Club took to the court at 8.45 am on Sunday morning last in the biggest match of his life so far, to play Tyler Stoffel from the USA for the World title I in the 13 and Under Section. Darren had already met Stoffel in the tournament when he and his doubles partner Colin Crehan from Clare played Tyler and his partner Matiasek (USA) in the quarter final of the 15 and under doubles event and winning that match fairly comfortably put Darren in a confident frame of mind going into the singes final. Play started with Stoffel serving but Doherty was in no mood to trifle with his opponent and he started off in flying fashion and killed the first shot with his right hand off the back wall. Now on serve he proceeded to show amazing skill and focus, and with a mixture of a lob serve down both side walls and a low power serve he brought the score to 10-1. Stoffel at this point regained serve and notched up 3 more points with some good kill shots and took the score to 4-10. Despite the crowd in his gallery and indeed the one next door where McKenna was playing Nash, and the noise and tension of the spectators watching four games which were taking place simultaneously, Doherty kept a cool head, focused on his goal and regained serve. His low power serve proved too much for the American player and Doherty set himself up for several fly kill-shots into both corners and he was able to close out the game on a score line of 21-4. In the second game Stoffel came back with all guns blazing and put Doherty out of serve straight away. He meant action and gained 6 points in quick succession with a mixture of good passing shots and a couple of great kill shots. It took Doherty ten minutes or so to find his feet in this game and regain serve, but once he did he leveled the score quickly at 6-6. Stoffel and Doherty shared the next few points to take the score to 11-9 but that was to be the last time Stoffel would score a point in this match. Doherty, although very tired and carrying an injury to his right elbow from the play in previous days, forged ahead and with more spectacular fly kill shots and great spin serves which Stoffel had no hope of receiving, Darren clinched the World Championship title on a score line of 21-4 and 21-9 to lift his second world title of the tournament, having already won the 13 and Under One Wall title earlier in the week. This was a truly fantastic achievement for the young Emyvale player and underlines his potential for the future. Watching over Darren throughout the tournament was his coach and mentor Pete Larkin, himself a Worlds contender in this tournament. It was a proud moment for Peter and a historic day for Emyvale Handball Club, for County Monaghan and for Ireland. "We have a lot to be proud of this year in juvenile handball in Co. Monaghan" Pete said afterwards, "and this tops off a fantastic year to perfection". We too offer our congratulations to both Champions. While being impressive in winning their titles the Monaghan lads also made a big impression on everyone they came in contact with at the championships. "They are two fantastic lads and deserving more praise than I can heap on them" Katrina Mone said afterwards. "I have to also say that our juveniles in general did Ireland proud both on and off the court and they blew most opposition away with their sheer skill. Everyone was talking about them and their attitude and even some of the American senior players who refereed matches said what a pleasure it was to deal with polite, calm players". MASTERS COMPETITIONS. Pete Larkin and Michael McCarron took part in the "40x20 Golden Masters Singles competition". Both of them easily won their first round matches against American and Belgian opponents. In their second round matches, they both played really well and they took their American opponents to tie-breakers but it wasn't enough and both of them made their exit from the competition. Pete also took part in the Golden Masters Big Ball Singles One Wall competition but suffering with a calf muscle injury he bowed out at the semi final stage. John Treanor played in the "40x 20 Silver Masters Singles competition" where he was defeated by Kenneth Gore of Oregon, U.S.A. John partner the Ulster Handball Chairperson, Mickey Quinn from Armagh in the "40 x 20 Silver Masters Doubles competition" but they lost in the quarter finals. By any standards it has been a truly magnificent performance by the Monaghan lads. Monaghan had six players taking part in the world championships, Padraig McKenna who was on the official Ireland team, with Darren Doherty, Emyvale and Terry McElvaney, Monaghan Harps also making the trip. In addition to those three juveniles, three adults, Pete Larkin, Emyvale along with Michael McCarron and John Treanor from the St. Mellan's club also made the trip and to bring home three World Titles, especially in the underage competitions bodes well of for the future of the game. The standard of handball in Ulster is in good shape given that a total of 12 World Titles came to the province including the top two of Men's Singles Open with Paul Brady of Cavan and the Women's Singles Open with Fiona Shannon of Antrim. Darren Doherty though tops the list with two individual titles. The full list of Winners from Ulster at the 2009 World Handball Championships in Portland, Oregan, USA was as follows: Men's Singles Open Paul Brady - Cavan Women's Singles Open Fiona Shannon - Antrim Men's Doubles Open Michael Finnegan - Cavan & Eoin Kennedy - Dublin Women's Doubles Open Fiona Shannon & Sibeal Gallagher - Antrim Men's Singles A Ruairi Kelly - Tyrone Men's Doubles A Darragh Daly - Tyrone & Ger Coonan - Tipperary Men's Singles B Shane O'Neill - Tyrone One Wall Men's Singles B James Doyle - Armagh Girls 17U Singles Lorraine Havern - Down Boy's 15U Singles Padraig McKenna - Monaghan Boy's U13 Singles Darren Doherty - Monaghan One Wall Boy's U13 Singles Darren Doherty - Monaghan HOMECOMING. To celebrate and recognise the success that Monaghan players enjoyed at the World Championships the Monaghan Handball Board is organising A Welcome Home function in the Four Season Hotel tomorrow evening, Friday October 16th at 8pm. The function will pay tribute to the Monaghan Players who competed in the World Handball Championships and will celebrate the fantastic victories by Darren Doherty & Padraig McKenna and the theme is that EVERYONE IS WELCOME. Tweet

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