The curtain came down on the 2014 GAA Handball 40X20 season last weekend in Clarecastle when the Irish Junior Nationals took place. It turned out to be a reasonably successful two days for Wexford players and in particular Josh Kavanagh & Mark Doyle as they blitzed the field in the Boys 11&U Doubles winning the National Title with plenty to spare. They navigated their way through the early rounds before beating two local Clare boys in the Semi-Final. They were too slick for Jamie Maher & Jack Doyle (Kilkenny) in the Final winning on a 11-8, 5-11, 11-6. This was a fantastic achievement for both St.Josephs boys as they proved themselves the best in Ireland at their age group. Daniel Kavanagh (St.Josephs) went agonisingly close to winning the Boys 15&U Singles as he had an unassailable lead in the Final against the impressive Sean Kerr (Tyrone) only to lose it 21-10, 19-21, 5-11. Daniel had been in excellent form over the weekend taking the scalps of the likes of Tadhg O’Neill (Cork) and Tiarnan Agnew (Clare) on his way to the Final. No luck for St.Josephs girls Roisin Walsh 15&U Singles and Cora Doyle & Emma Sweeney Girls 13&U Singles as they all lost out in the opening rounds of their respective competitions.
Also a very successful weekend was had by Keith Armstrong from Kilmyshall who won the All-Ireland singles in the 17 & under B grade. Keith who was guided by his father Mick through the weekend faced a tough semi-final. Keith got drawn against Aaron Owens (Tyrone) whom he defeated 21-12 & 21-20, he had to dig deep in the second game and come from 11-20 down to snatch the match. The final proved somewhat more straight forward as he beat Anthony Fitzgerald (Waterford) 21-5 & 21-7.
The standard in all age groups was very high and the bar has been raised significantly over the last few years. Congratulations to all the Wexford players who competed so well in Clare. Pictures of Josh Kavanagh , Mark Doyle and Keith Armstrong can be seen on the Wexford GAA website under the Alley Chat link.
Also for live updates, results and action photo’s please follow us on Twitter at wexfordhandball. To view photos please log onto Wexford GAA and click the Alley Chat link into Handball.
County Adult Championship Results Week 1
Intermediate Singles –Malachy Whelan (Castlebridge) beat David Kenny (Castlebridge) 21-7 & 21-17
Intermediate Singles – Malachy Whelan (Castlebridge) beat Cory Murphy (Castlebridge) 21-6 & 21-8
Junior D Singles – Tomas Murphy (Kilmyshall) beat Terry Paige (St Mary’s) 21-18 20-21 & 21-15
Junior D Singles- Walter Lawlor (Barntown) beat Adam Hanrahan (Castlebridge) 21-3 & 21-17
Senior Singles- Tommy Hynes (St Mary’s) beat Peter McGrath (Coolgreany) 21-1 & 21-5
Junior Singles- David Kenny (Castlebridge) beat Noel Holohan (Templeludigan) 21-9 &21-14
Junior Singles- Miley Connors (Barntown) beat David Redmond (Templeludigan) 21-3 & 21-1
Golden Master B Singles – Stephen Murphy (Castlebridge) v Aiden Sinnott (Ballymitty)
Junior D Doubles –Stephen Kavanagh/Martin Crowley (St Josephs) beat
Brendan Holohan/Brendan Fitzpatrick (Templeludigan) 21-10 & 21-3
Junior Singles Darren O’Toole (Coolgreany) beat Benny Doyle (Horeswood) 21-3 & 21-17
Master B Singles Damien Kelly (Coolgreany) beat Tommy Armstrong (Kilmyshall) 21-4 & 21-0
Junior C Singles v Anthony Butler (Ballyhogue) beat Tom Byrne (Kilmyshall) 21-19 & 21-7
Junior C Singles John Murphy (Kilmyshall) beat Liam Rossiter (Ballyhogue) 21-4 & 21-8
Junior Singles Eugene Kelly (Castlebridge) beat Niall Maher (Kilmyshall) 21-10 & 21-15
Golden Master B Doubles Frank Maddock/Kevin Murphy (Ballymitty) beat
Miley Byrne/Aiden Sinnott (Ballymitty) 21-17 & 21-12
Junior C Singles Brian Busher (Bridgetown) beat Patrick Boland (Templeludigan) 17-21 , 21-4 & 21-7
Junior Singles Michéal Busher (Bridgetown) beat Michéal O’Neill (Templeludigan) 21-7 & 21-12
Junior C Singles Keith Armstrong (Kilmyshall) beat Eamon Codd (Bridgetown) 21-4 &21-10
Junior D Singles Owen Redmond (Kilmyshall) beat John Byrne (Ballymitty) 21-4 & 21-10
Junior D Singles Timmy Farrell (Kilmyshall) beat David Stanners (St Martins) 21-10 & 21-16
Junior Singles Paul Lambert (St Josephs) beat Thomas Hall (Castlebridge) 21-2 & 21-5
Junior Singles John Roche (Castlebridge) beat Paddy Haughton (St Mary’s) 10-21 , 21-18 & 21-12