Nash crowned world champion

Tuamgraney is famed the world over as a great handball nursery. Over the years the club has produced numerous Irish champions while the club’s most famous son, Pat Kirby, has been crowned world champion.

This week the club has another World champion. He is Scariff native Diarmuid Nash who was crowned World U-23 handball champion at the CityWest in Dublin last evening.

In the final he produced a top class performance to beat Caolan Daly from Tyrone, in straight sets, 21-6 and 21-4.

National senior semi-finalist earlier this year, the well-known Scariff and Clare hurler was hugely impressive in capturing back-to-back World titles. He won the World 15 and under boys title six years ago in Edmonton, Canada.

Nash had four matches on his way to this success winning a game each day from Sunday through to Wednesday.

“This was the one I was after”, a delighted Nash told The Clare Champion on Wednesday evening. The Dublin-based Scariff man will be in action every day between now and the conclusion of the championships on Sunday. At the time of going to press last evening he and Niall Malone were in doubles action.

“I am also a member of the Irish one wall team and I will be playing in the Nations Cup on Sunday. Munster has been doing particularly well in the juvenile competitions this week,” he said.

The new world champion was thrilled with the support from Clare at the finals on Wednesday. Nash was involved in a thrilling semi-final game with Seamus O’Carroll from Limerick on Tuesday.

“This went to a tie breaker,” explained the number two seed.  Incidentally, the top four seeds got through to the championship semi-finals”.

Where to from here for the Scariff man?

“The Irish senior title next year is a target while taking part in the open section of the world championships in three years time when they return to Canada is something I will be looking forward to,” said Nash before paying tribute to “the huge support from Clare that was here for the finals”.

At the time of going to press John Cawley was through to the men’s masters B singles final, Colin Crehan (Kilkishen) was in the boys 17 and under singles final and Clooney’s Fergal Coughlan was in the boys 15 and under final.