The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
LONG-time Clare handball official Willie Roche will be the next president of the Irish Handball Association. Last weekend, he was voted in as the president elect and he will take over from Walter O’Connor next year for a three-year term.
He will be the third Clare official to hold this post, following Michael Boyce, who served from 1975 to 1978 and Caimin Jones, who was president from 1981 to 1984.
Roche secured the president elect position by defeating Tyrone’s Eugene Maguire, 57-40.
“This is a case of a childhood dream coming true and I will do everything I can to ensure the continued great development of handball when I take up this role,” he said.
A native of Wexford, he has been based in Clare since 1971. “I knew about handball in Clare before I came here. We all played a bit in Wexford, where the game is popular. I came to work in what was then known as Shannon Diamond and Carbide and one of my work colleagues was well-known Clare handballer Mick Hogan. My involvement in Clare handball grew from there,” he told The Clare Champion.
His first post on the executive of Clare handball was as treasurer. “Over the years I have had a stint in all the other positions and, from there, I went on to become chairman of the Munster Council,” Roche said.
Three years ago, he was a candidate for the national president’s post but lost out to Walter O’Connor.
“During the recent World Championships in Ireland, I was asked by a lot of county officials to allow my name forward for the post again and that made up my mind. I was nominated by quite a number of counties,” said the president elect, who lives in Sixmilebridge.
These counties included his native Wexford, Kilkenny and Clare.
Roche this week expressed the hope that “Clare will get back on top at juvenile level and I would love to present the All-Ireland senior title to a Clare team during my presidency”.
He concluded, “A high standard has been set by the previous Clare officials who held this post and it will be a big challenge to maintain that”.
