Munster titles for Clare handballers

CLARE claimed more Munster championship titles in the past week, as the adult 40×20 handball championships continue.
Sisters Sarah and Paula Loughnane were crowned Munster junior B ladies doubles champions after they beat Aisling Fitzgerald and Edel O’Grady (Tuamgraney) in three entertaining games, winning Sunday’s final in O’Callaghan’s Mills on a 21-15, 15-21, 21-8 score.
Ashling Fitzgerald has the chance to claim silverware when she plays the Munster singles final this Saturday in Galbally against Laura Keevers from Waterford at 2pm.
Pat Donellan, Kilkishen, added to his golden masters A singles success when he partnered Newmarket’s Mike Kelly to take the doubles title, beating Pat Griffin and Tony Flaherty in the Munster final at Tuamgraney on Saturday (19-21, 21-15, 21-9).
There was double success also for John Cawley of Shannon, who won Munster championship honours at golden masters B singles grade when he beat Cork’s Brendan Hurley on a scoreline of 21-9, 21-11. He added the doubles title on Tuesday night when he partnered Teddy O’Hanlon to beat Limerick pair, Jimmy Fanning and Jack Dillon 21-7, 21-7, in the final in Silvermines.
This weekend, Jamie Lynch plays his re-fixed Munster minor singles final against Corkman, Killian Carroll. The match is on Friday at 8pm in Mallow.
Brothers Fergal and Ger Coughlan will also be in Munster final action this Saturday when they play the masters A decider against Cork in Galbally.
This coming weekend will also see the Munster senior open doubles championship played off over Saturday and Sunday at the Broadford and Mallow venues. Tuamgraney pair Diarmaid Nash and Niall Malone will be flying the saffron and blue flag and will be hoping to enter the fray as Munster intermediate doubles champions. They played the Munster final on Wednesday night against Cork’s Fleming brothers. Nash, this year’s senior singles winner and Malone open their Munster senior bid against Cork (Colm Jordan and Alan Dwyer) at 12noon on Saturday in Broadford, with the winners facing into a semi-final against either Cork (Brendan and Niall Fleming) or Tipperary (Fergal Collins and David Moloney) that evening in Broadford at 5pm. The final is scheduled for 3pm on Sunday in Mallow. Nash also has the re-fixed Munster intermediate singles final in Ballydesmond next Wednesday.
The All-Ireland Senior Open Singles Championship is this year being run as a separate competition to the provincial championships and Niall Malone was in preliminary-round action last Saturday. He overcame Roscommon’s Neil McDermott in Crinkle on Saturday (21-12, 21-13) to set up a first-round fixture against multiple All-Ireland and world champion Paul Brady in his home court of Kingscourt, Cavan, a fixture scheduled for Saturday, March 12.
Meanwhile, on the local handball scene, this week will bring the curtain down on the county adult leagues when Shannon and Clarecastle clash in the Division 3 final in Clooney on Friday at 8pm. This is the last of this year’s divisional finals after Tuamgraney won the decider of the Sherwood Inn Division 2, defeating Kilrush in Clooney on Monday. The winning team was Shane Walsh (captain), Mike Hayes, Paul Healy, Patrick Fitzgerald, Ciaran Walsh and Ciaran Malone. The subs were Seamus Ryan, John Fitzgerald, Jimmy Walsh and Trevor Kelly.
Clooney claimed the Division 4 crown a number of weeks ago.