Banner stars set to shine at nationals

The 40×20 Irish junior handball nationals 2010 take place this weekend at Ulster venues and there will be plenty of Clare interest as over a dozen Banner handballers from a number of clubs across the county will make the journey north to Kingscourt, Cavan; Bawn and Carrickmacross, both in Monaghan.

It is the first year that the junior nationals will be held as a stand-alone event separate from the Adult Irish Nationals and there is great interest in the competition, not least because of the very high standard of Irish juvenile handball at present.
Clare’s young stars have been to the fore in recent years and will be competing strongly for titles in a number of grades. The action gets underway on Saturday morning and continues over the weekend with all finals in Kingscourt on Sunday.
Meanwhile, following the annual general meeting of Clare handball, a new addition to the board’s executive is county secretary Padraic Garvey, who is originally from Mayo but is an active member of the Clarecastle club.
At the recent county board meeting, chairman Matthew McMahon welcomed Padraic to the role. Board officers for the new season are: chairman, Matthew McMahon (Kilkishen); secretary, Padraic Garvey (Clarecastle); assistant secretary, Tommy Hegarty (Clarecastle), treasurer, Willie Roche (Newmarket-on-Fergus) and PRO, Shane Walsh (Tuamgraney).
The County Adult Handball Leagues are already in full swing across the divisions and with a high number of teams entered; this league season promises to be very competitive.
County singles championships at junior B, junior and intermediate grades will commence soon and any players interested should get in touch with their club secretary as this Friday is the entry deadline.