The Clooney-Quin U-14 handball tournament was held last Saturday and Sunday, consisting of an A and B division as well as a girls’ section and involved 48 of the top handball players from Clarecastle, Broadford, Newmarket, O’Callaghan’s Mills, Tuamgraney, Tulla and Shannon clubs, as well as host club Clooney-Quin.

The tournament kicked-off on Saturday, when all the players took part in a series of time-based games, which led to many exciting and dramatic finishes as the clock ticked down.
The finals, which were held on Sunday afternoon, saw some outstanding handball being played by talented players who, on this form, are destined for All-Ireland honours.
In the U-14B division, Sean Hehir (Clooney-Quin) defeated club mate Conor O’Brien after a titanic struggle in the plate final while the stylish Sean Peril (Tuamgraney) proved too strong for Brendan Dolan (Clooney-Quin) to become the new U-14B champion.
In the girls’ division, Doireann Murphy (Clarecastle) pipped Clodagh Nash (Tuamgraney) in a great semi-final and then went on to beat Ella Donnellan (O’Callaghan’s Mills) in the final.
There was very strong competition in the U-14A division, where Jack Hayes (Clarecastle) edged out Shane Hunt (Tulla) to win the plate final, while the talented young guns of Tiarnan Agnew and Gary Cooney (both O’Callaghan’s Mills) put on a magnificent display of high quality, all-action handball in the championship final, before Tiarnan eventually emerged as the new U-14A champion.
Afterwards, Paschal Brooks, chairman of Clooney-Quin club, presented trophies to all finalists.

Juvenile title for Coughlan

THE cream of Munster juvenile handball was on show in Liscarroll, Cork last week. The tournament has been organised every year for well over a decade under the stewardship of Timmy Healy. Former champions include the recently crowned US National champions, Clare’s Colin Corbett and Colin Crehan.
This year, the tournament had in excess of 40 competitors in the U-13 category and in excess of 30 in the U-15 category.
Throughout the week, crowds were entertained with some impressive handball and out of a total of 76 games played, the contenders were whittled down to semi-final stages in both the U-13 and 15 categories.
In the U-15A category, Clare dominated and four Clare players battled it out in the semi-finals. Clare’s only competitor left in the U-13A section was Jack Hayes of Clarecastle.
The first semi-final pitted Fergal Coughlan of Clooney against Ricky Bolton of Tuamgraney, in the U-15 division. Aces were exchanged on a number of occasions but in the end Coughlan proved too powerful and won on a 15-7, 15-8 scoreline.
Tulla’s Brian Fahy took on O’Callaghan’s Mills player Jacob Loughnane and the Tulla contender proved too cunning in the end and ran out winner on a convincing 15-5, 15-6 scoreline.
The first of the U-13 semi-finals saw Clarecastle’s Jack Hayes against Ballyporeen’s Jason English. This match proved to be a nip-and-tuck affair with English clinching the first game by the narrowest of margins 15-14. The second game proved to be no different but in the end, it was English who snatched victory with a 15-10 success
The U-15A final pitted Brian Fahy of Tulla against Fergal Coughlan of Clooney. It was Coughlan who got off the blocks at high speed and raced to a 8 -0 lead. Fahy clawed his way back into contention at 13-10 but Coughlan had the serve and clinched the game at 15-10. In the second game, Fahy found his stride and won 15-8. The tie break proved to be Coughlan’s and with some superb offensive and defensive play, he scored a convincing 7-0 win to claim the title.