Nash marches on to senior handball semis

As the 2012 Munster 40×20 Adult Handball Championships come to a close, Clare can be happy with a return of eight provincial titles.
Munster final wins over the last week included minor doubles, U-21 doubles, silver masters B doubles and ladies junior B doubles, while Diarmaid Nash has qualified for the All-Ireland senior singles semi-finals.
Scariff native Diarmaid Nash has, over the past few years, marked himself out as one of the best young handballers in Ireland and in 2012 is continuing to scale new heights. Following All-Ireland intermediate singles and doubles (with Niall Malone) wins last year, Nash moved up to senior grade handball, the first Clareman to do so in decades. The Tuamgraney clubman has exceeded the expectations of many handball followers to reach the last four of the All-Ireland Senior Singles Championship.
Nash overcame Mayo man Joe McCann, who sits at third in the official Irish handball rankings, when the two clashed in their quarter-final tie on Sunday.
After a top-class game, Nash’s fitness and hunger were key in a 21-18, 21-16 win in Moycullen. His semi-final opponent will be Westmeath’s Robbie McCarthy who had little trouble in beating Michael Gregan (Wicklow) on Saturday. The pair meet in Roscommon on Saturday, March 10, and McCarthy, ranked second in Ireland behind champion Paul Brady, will be well known to Nash. In their previous competitive meeting, the Lake County man defeated Nash in last year’s Irish nationals final. The other semi-final will feature seven-time champion Paul Brady, who easily defeated his Cavan doubles team-mate Michael Finnegan, and Meath’s Brian Carroll, who impressed in overcoming Ricky McCann of Antrim.
Nash was also due to play in the senior doubles championship on Sunday with Malone but they received a walkover when Roscommon pulled out due to injury and so move on to round two which is due to be played on Sunday week. They face experienced Meath pairing Tom Sheridan and Brian Carroll.
Colin Crehan and Niall Bolton lived up to their recent form when taking an all-Clare Munster minor doubles final on Sunday. The Kilkishen-Tulla pairing produced a brilliant all-round performance to defeat the Tuamgraney duo of Barry Nash and Patrick Fitzgerald.
After going behind early, they dominated the rest of the match to win 21-6, 21-13. The standard of the game, between four players who are all underage again next year, was lauded by many in the packed Shannon venue, particularly the skill and athleticism of the winners.
On Saturday, there was a double-header of Munster finals in Cappagh with Clare victorious in one and most unlucky not to win the other. Edel O’Grady and Ashling Fitzgerald are ladies junior B doubles champions after a comprehensive 21-5, 21-15 win over Limerick’s Siobhan Lehane and Niamh Blackburn.
In the junior doubles decider, Tulla pair Cathal Hannon and Aidan Lynch took on Shane Hedigan and Donnacha O’Dea of Cork and looked to be on track when winning the first game 21-14.
Hannon sustained an ankle injury early on and this seemed to affect him slightly in the second.
Lynch moved to the left side and really came into the game and hit a string of classy killshots in both corners. After a ding-dong battle, Cork came back to win 21-20 and with their confidence up, powered to a 21-15 win in the third.
The final of the Golden Masters B Doubles Championship also went to three games in Cashel on Friday night but Clare came out on the right side this time. John Cawley and Teddy O’Hanlon defeated Cork’s John McDonagh and Paddy Hennessy 21-12, 13-21, 21-15 after a real battle, to add the doubles crown to Cawley’s singles title.
The Munster U-21 doubles final was also an all-Clare affair where Trevor Vaughan and Chris Philpott (Tulla/Kilkishen) defeated Tulla pair Sam Edbrooke and Colm Halpin on Wednesday on a 21-9, 21-14 scoreline.

Focus turns to All-Ireland semis
With the provincial championships over, Clare’s Munster champions switch their attention to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
This weekend Cathal Hannon and Ashling Fitzgerald travel to Leinster, while John Cawley and Stephen McInerney feature in a Shannon double-header on Saturday.
The All-Ireland senior singles semi-finals take place in Roscommon the following weekend as does round two of the All-Ireland Senior Doubles Championship.
Clare’s eight Munster adult 40×20 titles were picked up in minor doubles (Colin Crehan, Niall Bolton), U-21 doubles (Trevor Vaughan, Chris Philpott), junior singles (Cathal Hannon), ladies junior B singles (Ashling Fitzgerald), ladies junior B doubles (Ashling Fitzgerald and Edel O’Grady), golden masters B singles (John Cawley), golden masters B doubles (John Cawley, Teddy O’Hanlon) and emerald masters B singles (Stephen McInerney).

County leagues
On the local handball scene the County League Division 2 final between neighbours Tulla and O’Callaghan’s Mills was played in Tuamgraney on Monday night and it was Tulla who emerged as winners with a hard-fought victory on a 90-85 scoreline.
The winning team was Niall Bolton, Mark Lynch, Trevor Vaughan, Colm Halpin, Danny O’Halloran and Paul Lynch (sub, Sam Edbrooke). The Mills team featured Gerry Cooney, Damien Donellan, Colin Crehan, Pat Donnellan, Mike Baker and Brendan Hannon (sub, Seamus McNamara).
The division 1 final will also be between Tulla and O’Callaghan’s Mills on Thursday, March 8, in Tuamgraney, while Tuamgraney and Clooney clash the following night in Tulla in the Division 4 decider.
In Division 3, the final rounds of round-robin games take place over the next fortnight.

Fixtures
All-Ireland 40×20
Saturday, March 3: St Joseph’s, Wexford 3pm: junior singles – Cathal Hannon v Pat O’Donnell (Wicklow); Shannon 4pm: GMBS – John Cawley v Eamon Purcell (Kilkenny); EMBS – Stephen McInerney v John Kelly (Louth).
Sunday, March 4: O’Loughlin’s, Kilkenny 2pm: Ladies junior B singles – Ashling Fitzgerald v Rachel Hogan (Kilkenny).
Saturday March 10: St Coman’s, Roscommon All-Ireland Senior Singles semi-finals: Paul Brady (Cavan) v Brian Carroll (Meath) – Diarmaid Nash (Clare) v Robbie McCarthy.
Sunday, March 11: Crinkle, Offaly, 5pm: All-Ireland Senior Doubles Championship, round two – Diarmaid Nash/Niall Malone v Tom Sheridan/Brian Carroll (Meath); Dessie Keegan/Joe McCann (Mayo) v Gavin Buggy/Paul Lambert (Wexford).
County adult handball league
Division 1 final: Tulla v O’Callaghan’s Mills, Thursday, March 8, in Tuamgraney (8pm). Division 4 final: Tuamgraney v Clooney, Friday, March 9, in Tulla (8pm).