Glorious weekend for Clare’s handballers

Handball

BANNER County handball competitors were in sparkling form at the weekend as they captured five All-Ireland juvenile titles. On the adult front, victory in three from four semi-finals means Clare will contest a total of six All-Ireland finals.
Crinkle in Offaly saw the first batch of juvenile finals on Saturday with Clare winning three top-class finals.
First up on the card was the O’Callaghan’s Mills pairing of Jacob Loughnane and Ciarán Cooney. They came up against the Sheridans from the Royal County.
Clare got off to a flying start and took the first on a 15-5 scoreline. Meath bounced back to win the second 15-9. It was all down to the wire and while the Clare lads fought bravely, it was the Meath duo who claimed victory.
Next up were the Clare girls, Natasha Coughlan and Michelle Nihill from the Clooney club, who were hoping to win the U-15 doubles’ crown. These girls have been doubles partners for a number of years and have a number of provincial titles to their name but this was the one they wanted most. They got off to a great start and powered their way to the first game on a 15-6 scoreline. Kilkenny got back into the game and won the second but the Clare girls stepped up a gear and took control through great power serving from Michelle and retrieving from Natasha to win that elusive title.
The Coughlan family was well represented in the finals as next up was the U-14 doubles’ final where Fergal Coughlan and Jamie Keane took on a very formidable Wexford pairing. With both teams having come through tough semi-final opponents, this was always going to be a close encounter.
As with the previous matches, Clare had a great start and took the first in a blistering 15-3 win. Wexford dug deep in the second and forced Clare to a tie breaker. The Clare pair regrouped and took control. With young Coughlan exhibiting great composure and Keane solid in attack, they took the decider with a comprehensive 15-6 scoreline.
Last on the card was the boys’ U-14 singles between Brian Fahy of Tulla and Daniel Curry of Wicklow. The last time these two met, Curry just got the better of the young East Clare boy.
The first game went Clare’s way as Fahy oozed coolness and shot clinically. The second game seemed to be Clare’s but Curry got a second wind and edged home. Both players were tiring at this stage but it was the young Tulla lad who had that little extra in the tank and took the title and final game 15-6.
On Sunday, attention switched to St Coman’s Club in Roscommon. After Saturday’s successes, hopes were high that the two titles on offer would be added to Clare’s collection.
First into action were Tulla’s Colin Corbett and Niall Bolton who took on a very strong Tyrone pair in the U-16 doubles. Things didn’t go according to plan in the first and the Tulla lads lost 21-13. After the break, they began to shine and with Bolton retrieving some tremendous ball, forced the match to a tie break.
Clare won the toss to serve and raced to a 4-0 lead. It was nip and tuck after this but with Corbett producing kill shot after kill shot and Bolton holding the rear of the court, the young guns captured a well-deserved title with a final score of 11-5.
Attention now switched to Colin Crehan’s challenge for the U-16 singles’ title.
He was up against Darren Doherty, Monaghan, who recently captured the US Nationals U-15 title in San Diego.
From the start, the young Clare lad was tremendous, displaying great court intellect, using great passing shots and court control and he went on to claim the title on a 21-14, 21-11 scoreline.
In the girls’ U-17 final, Hannah O’Brien and Áine McInerney travel to Goresbridge on Sunday.
Clare will also contest six adult All-Irelands after Diarmaid Nash, Cathal Hannon and masters pair Teddy O’Hanlon and John Cawley were all victorious in semi-finals over the weekend.
Nash travelled to Claremorris to take on Stephen Cooney (Mayo) in the intermediate singles and came away with a comprehensive 21-6, 21-11 win. This had been expected to be a very tight affair but from early on, the Tuamgraney man was always in contol, his fitness giving him the edge. Nash produced a string of low, powerful serves that the Connacht champion had little answer to. He will face a stiffer test in the final with Tyrone’s Ruairi Kelly waiting after the Red Hand man defeated Meath’s Carl Browne in the other semi.
A tight affair was also expected in Clooney on Sunday and this one didn’t disappoint. Tulla clubman Cathal Hannon progressed to the junior singles’ final against Paul Lambert (Wexford) after he outfought Roscommon man, Denis Creaton, in a three-game thriller. Hannon won the first, 21-11 before going down 21-15 in the second but rallied in the third and, playing some great shots, finished strongly to win 21-12.
On Saturday, John Cawley and Teddy O’Hanlon (Golden Masters B Doubles) were also made to battle through three games before seeing off Galway’s Mike Shaughnessy and Willie Corcoran in Shannon. Having started slowly, the Clare pair came through on a 7-21, 21-10, 21-13 score. The Shannon-Tuamgraney duo will now play Kildare (Paul Ruane and Cyril Carr) in the decider.
On Friday night, Sarah and Paula Loughnane were comprehensively beaten by Mayo in the ladies’ junior B doubles’ semi-final.
Clare will once again be aiming for silverware this weekend. Diarmaid Nash and Niall Malone take on Kilkenny duo Brian Manogue and Nicholas Anthony in the eagerly anticipated intermediate doubles decider in Cappagh. In ladies’ intermediate doubles, Anne-Marie Fitzgerald and Lisa Loughnane will be carrying the underdogs’ tag when they face Wicklow in Leixlip, while John Cawley will be confident of taking the golden masters B singles crown when he plays Meath’s Jimmy Reilly in Crinkle.
Last weekend’s semi-final winners will be in All-Ireland final action a week later.

Results
All-Ireland Juvenile 40×20 finals:
BU-16D: Niall Bolton, Colin Corbett (both Tulla) beat Patrick McCrory, Pol Clarke (Tyrone) 13-21, 21-13, 11-5.
BU-16S: Colin Crehan (Kilkishen) beat Darren Doherty (Monaghan) 21-15, 21-12.
BU-15D: Evan Sheridan, Dylan Sheridan (Meath) beat Jacob Loughnane, Ciarán Cooney (both Kilkishen) 5-15, 15-9, 15-4.
GU-15D: Natasha Coughlan/Michelle Nihill (both Clooney) beat Aisling Maher/Denise Love (Kilkenny) 15-6, 11-15, 15-6.
BU-14D: Fergal Coughlan/Jamie Keane (both Clooney) beat Seamus Sinnott/Ben O’Shea (Wexford) 15-3, 9-15, 15-6.
BU-14S: Brian Fahy (Clare) beat Daniel Curry (Wicklow) 15-12, 12-15, 15-6.
All-Ireland Adult 40×20 semi-finals:
IS Clare (Diarmaid Nash) beat Mayo (Stephen Cooney) 21-6, 21-11.
JS Clare (Cathal Hannon) defeated Roscommon (Denis Creaton) 21-11, 15-21, 21-12.
GMBD: Clare (John Cawley/Teddy Hanlon) beat Galway (Mike Shaughnessy and Willie Corcoran) 7-21, 21-10, 21-13.
LJBD: Mayo (Ciara McMenamon, Clodagh McMenamon) beat Clare (Sarah Loughnane, Paula Loughnane) 21-4, 21-3.

Fixtures
All-Ireland Adult 40×20 finals,
Saturday in Leixlip, Kildare, 3.30pm:
Ladies’ Intermediate Doubles: Clare (Lisa Loughnane/Annmarie Fitzgerald) v Wicklow (Shauna Hilley/Sandra Barnes).
Sunday in Cappagh, Limerick, 2pm: U-21 doubles final: Tipperary (Fergal Collins /Darragh Hardy) v Kilkenny (Patrick Funchion/Peter Funchion).
Intermediate Doubles’ Final: Kilkenny (Nicholas Anthony/Brian Manogue) v Clare (Diarmuid Nash/Niall Malone).
Sunday: in Crinkle, Offaly, 2.30pm:
Golden Masters B Singles’ Final: Meath (Jimmy Reilly) v Clare (John Cawley).