It was always going to be a hard-fought battle but the 60x30 Open Interclub Final between Coolboy (Wicklow) and Ballaghaderreen (Mayo) exceeded all expectations, as the men from the west collected their fifth title in six years.
Ballaghaderreen have dominated this competition for the past number of years, but lost out to Kells (Meath) in the 2008 decider and were anxious to hold the crown once more. However, a resilient Wicklow side had other ideas.
In the opening game, Wicklow’s top senior player, Michael Gregan, was in determined form and defeated Joe McCann 21-8, 21-11 to get the Coolboy side off to a flying start.
Things continued brightly for the Leinster side as they dominated the first doubles game, contested by Michael Lennon and Pat Quaile (Coolboy), and Vinnie Moran and Paul Flynn (Ballaghaderreen), to take a 21-16 victory. In the second game, the Mayo duo put in a tremendous effort to take the game 21-20 and grant their side a glimmer of hope.
Ballaghaderreen’s Dessie Keegan had it all to do in the last singles match against Johnny Willoughby, with his side down 27 points. In the first game, the powerful Keegan killed balls at ease and with a 21-6 victory edged into the Coolboy lead.
In the second game, Keegan was in awesome form and rolled of aces from all over the court. A 21-1 win saw his side clinch the title on a 98-90 overall scoreline, as the Mayo crowd celebrated their return to the top of the Interclub ladder.
‘We’re delighted with the win,’ said Keegan. ‘We know Coolboy were going to put it up to us and we were lucky to have edged it in the end.
‘The club championship means a lot to us in Ballaghaderreen and having lost in last year’s final, it’s great to be back.’
On the international scene, Irish handballers will return from California over the coming days following their domination of the US Nationals at Fountain Valley. There were victories for Emerald Isle players in the Men’s Open, A, B and C grades, as well as the 35+, 40+ and 45+ Masters grades.
Cavan’s Paul Brady took his fifth consecutive Men’s Open title, while Tipperary’s Fergal Collins defeated follow Premier County man Ger Coonan to take the Men’s A.
James Brady (Cavan) collected the Men’s B and 16 year old, Kilkenny’s Peter Funchion won the Men’s C after a tremendous performance. Fellow Cat Michael Ducksy Walsh took victory in the 40+ grade, while Dublin’s Egin Jensen took the 35+ title and Billy Bourke (Kilkenny) topped off the Irish domination with a win in the 45+ category.
