Kilkenny handball legend, Michael ‘Ducksy’ Walsh will lead the Irish Junior team to Tucson, Arizona this December for the USHA Nationals.
Walsh, a 38-time All-Ireland winning senior champion, is delighted to have have been handed the job.
‘I was over the moon when I got the call,’ said the Talbot’s Inch handballer, who was defeated in this year’s 60x30 Senior final.
‘I wasn’t going to go for the job, but I’m delighted I did now and I’m really looking for to taking the best underage players we have to the Juniors.’
Walsh was the first Irish player to win a USHA Junior title, which ironically he collected in Tucson in December 1981 in the 15 and Under category.
Twenty-six years later, he will return as the Irish manager.
‘I suppose it is a bit strange and I have great memories from my time playing at the Juniors,’ he said.
‘I just hope these kids have the same good experiences.’
Walsh and assistant manager Niamh Egan have a fine crop of players to work with.
Kilkenny hurler Richie Hogan will lead the group in the 19 and Under bracket. His female counterpart, Antrim’s Ashling Reilly, is rated as one of the top players in the world, having taken the 17 and Under world singles title and the 19 and Under world doubles in Canada last year.
In the 17 and Under bracket, Clare minor hurler Diarmaid Nash will fly the flag. Roscommon's Leona Doolin, the current 15 and Under World champion, will be in search of further glory stateside in the 17 and Under category.
In the 15 and Under grades, the Cats have a second representative in Eoghan Hennessy, while Ballydesmond’s Catríona Casey will hope to add to the Féile title she collected earlier in the year.
The tournament gets underway on 27 December, with the team traveling to the US on 22 December.
