Dublin duo Eoin Kennedy and Egin Jensen are through to the semi-final of the GAA Handball 60x30 Senior Doubles Championship, following an emphatic 21-5, 21-12 victory over Tipperary’s Paul Mullins and David Maloney.
Kennedy and Jensen are bidding for back to back titles and will now face Kilkenny’s Michael Ducksy Walsh and Michael Clifford in the penultimate stage of the Senior Doubles Championship. The Kilkenny pairing overcame Cavan’s Michael Finnegan and Raymond Cunningham in a one-sided affair at Thurles, taking a 21-7, 21-11 win.
Clifford was on form in the quarter-final meeting with the Breffni men, while 43-year-old Walsh was consistent on the left. Having lost out narrowly at the semi-final stage in last year’s championship, Walsh and Clifford are the pair to watch with just four partnerships remaining in the hunt for glory.
At the same Tipperary venue, the Championship hopes of Mayo’s Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann came to an end after a tiebreaker defeat at the hands of Wexford’s Colin Keeling and Barry Goff. The Connacht men took the first game 21-11, but Goff and Keeling was impressive in the next two games and booked their semi-final win on a 21-5, 21-13 scoreline.
Following their 21-13, 21-10 victory over Limerick’s Seamus O’Carroll and CJ Fitzpatrick, last year’s beaten finalists, Brian Carroll and Tom Sheridan (Meath) will now face the Model County duo in the second semi-final. Carroll and Sheridan oozed confidence throughout this meeting at Abbeylara and will be confident going into the next round battle against Wexford.
Meanwhile, in the Ladies Senior Doubles Championship, the Mayo double act of Amy Corrigan and Pauline Gallagher booked their final place with a 21-6, 21-9 win over Roscommon’s Marianna Rushe and sister Hilary.
In the other semi-final, Kerry ladies Maria Daly and Ashley Prendiville held out to take a 21-12, 21-18 win over Roscommon’s second pairing of Leona Doolin and Deirdre Donohoe.
M DONNELLY GAA Handball 60x30 Senior Doubles quarter-finals:
Kilkenny (D Walsh/M Clifford) dft Cavan (M Finnegan/R Cunningham) 21-7, 21-11
Dublin (E Kennedy/E Jensen) dft Tipperary (P Mullins/D Maloney) 21-5, 21-12
Wexford (B Goff/C Keeling) dft Mayo (D Keegan/J McCann) 11-21, 21-5, 21- 13
Meath (T Sheridan/B Carroll) dft Limerick (S O’Carroll/CJ Fitzpatrick) 21-10, 21-13
