The 2010 ‘Ladies GAA Handball Day’ takes place in Semple Stadium, Thurles, on Saturday with the Senior Singles decider, in addition to the Girls’ Inter-provincial 60x30 event.
Inter-provincial action will get underway at 11.45am as holders, Connacht, take on Leinster in the semi-final.
This will be followed by the GAA Handball All Ireland Ladies’ 60x30 Minor Doubles Championship final, which will see Cork’s Catriona Casey and Aisling O’Keeffe in action against Mayo’s Leona Ryder and Amy Corrigan, before the Girls’ Inter-provincial decider will see Munster face the semi-final winners.
It is hoped that the Ladies’ Day handball event will attract followers to the venue which saw a capacity crowd enjoy the thrilling spectacles served up last weekend at the Men’s Senior Doubles decider.
With the TV cameras to be present to record highlights from the programme, this is a further initiative by GAA Handball to promote the ladies’ games in the traditional 60x30 court.
In addition to the Inter-provincial and Minor doubles final, there will also be an eagerly awaited Intermediate doubles decider, in which Kerry’s Catriona Casey and Lisa Falvey face stern opposition in Wicklow’s Shauna Hilley and Sarah Barnes.
The action will climax on the day with the blue ribband event of 60x30 as Kerry's recently crowned doubles champions, Maria Daly and Ashley Prendiville, will meet to decide the destination of the Ladies Senior Singles Cup. Prendiville won the title in 2008, but lost out to Limerick’s Bernie Hennessy last year. Now the Ballymagelligott duo face-off for bragging rights in the final showdown.
The new Ladies’ Senior Singles Cup was donated by former Riarthóir Náisiúnta, Lorcán Ó Ruairc, to the GAA Irish Handball Council, and will become the prestigious Cup on offer for this event in the future.
Meanwhile, a large number of other 60x30 finals take place across the country in the final weekend of softball. Kilkenny’s Michael ‘Ducsky’ Walsh bids to finish his softball season on a high note following last weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Doubles defeat. Walsh takes on Tyrone’s Niall Kerr in the Masters A Final at Kells, Meath on Sunday.
