PRESS RELEASE
An enthralling contest is in prospect when near neighbours, Meath and Cavan, clash in the All-Ireland 40 x 20 Senior Doules final at Croke Park on Saturday evening. Tom Sheridan and Walter O’Connor defend their title when they line out for the Royal county against Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan who will be seeking their county’s and province’s first title at this level since the Championship was inaugurated in 1975. Sheridan holds a record 9 Senior 40 x 20 Doubles titles, five of these from 1987-1993 with his clubmate James McGovern, two with Egin Jensen in 1996 & 1997 and two with current partner, O’Connor, in 2000 & 2002. He won his first All-Ireland title at Under 12 as far back as 1979, while O’Connor’s first victory was a 40 x 20 Under 16 Singles title in 1983. The pair teamed up to win the 40 x 20 Minor Doubles title in 1985 and won the Minor Hardball Doubles title in the same year. They retained both crowns in 1986 and played with different partners over the years until they teamed up again in the late 1990’s.
Paul Brady now occupies the No 3 spot in the USHA rankings and became the first Irish player to win a USA Ranking Tournament in December last. He won a World 17 & Under Singles title in 1997 and collected several international titles since then. Michael Finnegan, who holds a record 15 All-Ireland Minor titles, won a USA 15 & Under title in 1990 and the corresponding World Championship a year later. He went on to win Under 21 Singles and Doubles titles as well as Intermediate Singles and Doubles championships in both courts. The Cavan players defeated Ricky McCann and Paddy Crothers of Antrim 21-12, 21-7 in their semi-final, while the Meath men accounted for Colin Keeling and Tommy Hynes of Wexford 21-8, 21-12 to qualify for the final. Having won the Senior Singles title in stunning fashion last weekend, Cavan footballer Brady, together with Finnegan, will be hoping to take the Senior Doubles title to Ulster for the first time, but they will have a tough battle on their hands to overcome the Meath players who will be seeking a record 10th title for their county.
Wexford hurler, Barry Goff, will be in action in the Intermediate Singles final against Charly Shanks of Armagh in the opening game at Croke Park on Saturday. Goff won All-Ireland Intermediate Singles 60 x 30 Singles and Doubles titles in 2002 and also holds an Under 21 Doubles and three Minor medals as well as several juvenile titles. The Armagh man won the All-Ireland 40 x 20 Minor Singles title in 2001 and has been hitting the top spots in the Intervarsity Championships. A little piece of history will be created in this grade as neither county has won the Intermediate Singles since the championship was inaugurated in 1995. Another piece of history will be created on Saturday at Croke Park when Roscommon take on Waterford in the Minor Doubles final, a title which has eluded both counties to date. Roscommon will be represented by Damian Martin, who lost out in the Minor Singles final a week ago, and Rikki O’Gara against John Kindregan and Michael Browne from the Friary/Abbeyside/Ballinacourty Club in Dungarvan. Roscommon accounted for Antrim 21-5, 21-5 in their semi-final while Waterford defeated Wicklow 13-21, 21-14, 21-11 to qualify for the final.
The Ladies Doubles final is between Fiona Shannon and her sister Sibéal McKenna of Antrim, who won the title in 2000, and sisters Maria and Sharon Daly from the Ballymacelligott Club in Kerry. All four players have international experience with the Kerry girls winning the USA Women’s Doubles title in 2002, while Fiona Shannon represented Ireland winning the World 17 & Under title in 1994, the same year in which her sister Sibéal took the World and USA 15 & Under titles. Fiona Shannon won her fourth Senior Singles 40 x 20 title last weekend and will be hoping to extend Antrim’s run in the doubles championship at the expense of the younger and less experienced Daly sisters.
Three Mayo teams are in action at Kilbeggan on Sunday afternoon. Kevin Geraghty and Martin Cronin line out for the Connacht county against Tony Breen and Jimmy Goggins of Wexford in the Silver Masters A Doubles event. Joseph McCann from Ballaghaderreen plays Miles Cash of Wexford in Under 21 Singles and will be hoping to record his county’s first victory at this level since the Championship began in 1980. Wexford’s only victory at this level was that of James Doyle in 1997. The final game at Kilbeggan sees Oliver Cassidy of Mayo take on Conor O’Brien from the Crinkle Club in Offaly in the Junior Singles final. Cassidy defeated Robin Cooke of Derry in two straight games in his semi-final while O’Brien had an easy victory over Seamus Lawlor from Clare to qualify for the final. Cassidy will be hoping to become the first Mayo player to win the Junior Singles event, whole Offaly’s only victory so far was that of Pat Delaney in 1978.
The weekend’s action commences with the Golden Masters A Doubles final at Kells on Friday evening where Dublin’s Eugene Kennedy and Vinny Farrelly will be seeking their third successive title when they take on Michael McCarron and Michael Todd of Monaghan. Ballymore Eustace is the venue for two games involving Antrim on Sunday afternoon. In Masters B Doubles, Brendan Rainey and Paddy Gault play Pat Donnellan and John Cawley of Clare while Billy Silcock and Stevie Madden represent the Ulster county in the Masters A Doubles final against Kilkenny’s Martin Lalor and Philly Parsons. Both counties will be seeking their first title at this level, which in the past has been dominated by Kerry and Clare. Antrim players will also be in action at Croke Park on Sunday in the Junior B Doubles final where Stevie Brady and Kevin McParland take on James Gregan and Anthony Sheridan from the Coolboy Club in Wicklow who will be seeking their county’s first title in this grade.
Galway’s Noel Rigney and Ollie Burke play Richard Downey and Neville Farrelly from Dublin in the Golden Masters B Doubles final at Curraghboy on Sunday afternoon. Having already won the singles title, Farrelly will be seeking his second championship in a week. John Kirby, who has won every honour in 60 x 30 handball, is partnered by his brother Dan in the Emerald Masters A Doubles final against Pat Clarke and Noel Raftery of Roscommon, with both counties seeking their first title in the tenth year of this championship. The Ladies Junior Singles also takes place at Curraghboy, where Laura Gillespie from Donegal plays Maria McCarthy from the St. Brigid’s Club in Blanchardstown.
Connacht and Munster counties are in opposition in three doubles finals at the Cappagh venue in Limerick on Sunday afternoon. Dan O’Brien and Tony Buckley from Cork take on Pádraig Conghaile and Pádraig Ó Fatharta from the Inverin Club in Galway in Emerald Masters B Doubles. Tadhg Ó Curraidhín and Colm Ó Culuain, also from Inverin, play Carl Burkett and Declan Ryan of Kerry in Diamond Masters B Doubles, with both counties seeking their first title in this grade. The Diamond Masters A Doubles event is between Pat O’Brien and Sam Tanner of Cork and Mayo’s Michael Reilly and Seán Heany.
All in all, it is again another very busy weekend in handball with seventeen finals down for decision at six venues throughout the country.
ALL-IRELAND 40 x 20 FINALS
GMAD Dublin (Eugene Kennedy, Vinny Farrelly)
v Monaghan (Michael McCarron, Michael Todd)
At Croke Park, Saturday 12 April, 4:00 p.m.
IS Wexford (Barry Goff) v
Armagh (Charly Shanks)
MD Roscommon
(Damian Martin, Rikki O’Gara) v Waterford (Michael Brown, John Kindregan)
Ladies SD Kerry
(Maria Daly, Sharon Daly) v Antrim (Fiona Shannon, Sibeál McKenna)
SD Meath (Walter O’Connor, Tom
Sheridan) v Cavan (Paul Brady, Michael Finnegan)
At Croke Park, Sunday 13 April, 12:00 noon
JBD Antrim (Stevie Brady, Kevin
McParland) v Wicklow (James Gregan, Anthony Sheridan)
At
Ballymore Eustace, Sunday 13 April, 2:00 p.m.
MBD Antrim (Brendan Rainey, Paddy
Gault) v Clare (Pat Donnellan, John Cawley)
MAD Antrim (Billy Silcock, Stevie
Madden) v Kilkenny (Martin Lalor, Philly Parsons)
At
Curraghboy, Sunday 13 April, 2:00 p.m.
GMBD Galway (Noel Rigney, Ollie Burke)
v Dublin (Richard Downey, Neville Farrelly)
Ladies JS Donegal (Laura Gillespie) v Dublin
(Maria McCarthy)
EMAD Clare (John Kirby, Dan Kirby) v
Roscommon (Pat Clarke, Noel Raftery)
At Cappagh,
Sunday 13 April, 2:00 p.m.
EMBD Cork (Dan O’Brien, Tony Buckley)
v Galway (Pádraig Conghaile, Pádraig Ó Fatharta)
DMBD Galway (Tadhg Ó Curraidhín, Colm
Ó Culuain) v Kerry (Carl Burkett, Declan Ryan)
DMAD Cork (Pat O’Brien, Sam Tanner) v
Mayo (Michael Reilly, Seán Heaney)
At
Kilbeggan, Sunday 13 April, 2:00 p.m.
SMAD Mayo (Kevin Geraghty, Martin Cronin)
v Wexford (Tony Breen, Jimmy Goggins)
U21S Mayo (Joseph McCann) v Wexford
(Miles Cash)
JS Mayo (Oliver Cassidy) v Offaly
(Conor O’Brien)