The 2009 GAA Handball 60x30 Senior Doubles Championship gets underway this week with the top four teams in action on Wednesday as 21 pairings prepare for battle.
Reigning champions, Meath’s Tom Sheridan and Brian Carroll are seeded in pole position and will take on Waterford duo David Walsh and Philip Butler tomorrow evening at Crinkle (Offaly).
Walsh and Butler are two accomplished big alley players and are both graduates of the Friary Abbeyside Ballinacourty club. The Royal County pairing impressed in last year’s final and with both players having exited the singles championship, the focus is now solely on retaining their senior doubles crown.
'We’re hoping to go all the way again this year, but we’ll be taking it one game at a time because in championship you can’t afford to take anything for granted,' said Carroll.
Last year’s beaten finalists, Mayo’s Joe McCann and Dessie Keegan are also in action on Wednesday as they take on Premier County father and son pairing, Packie and Paul Mullins.
Paul collected the Intermediate Singles and Doubles titles in 2007, while his father, Packie, is one of the stalwarts of the big alley code. Like their Meath counterparts, McCann and Keegan also made championship exits last weekend, and will be hoping to change their fortunes in Mullingar tomorrow evening.
'The doubles has always been the main focus point for this year, and we would love to make it back to the final,' said McCann.
'It’s one step at a time for us thought and we’re looking forward to getting back to championship action; training games are all good and well, but championship is a totally different ballgame.'
The 2007 champions, Dublin’s Egin Jensen and Eoin Kennedy, ranked two in the draw will also take to the midlands court and face a tough championship opener against Roscommon’s Aengus Cunningham and Chris Doolin.
Jensen and Kennedy dominated this championship from 2005 to 2007 and will be anxious to get back to those glory days this year.
Also in action at Crinkle are number four seeds, Kilkenny’s Michael ‘Ducksy’ Walsh and Michael Clifford, who take on Roscommon’s Rikki O’Gara and Damien Martin.
Meanwhile, the top two female 60x30 players in the country are preparing for Saturday’s All-Ireland final showdown.
Kerry’s Ashley Prendiville is aiming for a third Senior Singles title in succession as she faces five-time champion, Limerick’s Bernie Hennessy.
The winner will not only take the coveted title, but also book her place on the Irish Squad bound for the World Championships in Oregon in October.
