The Irish Wallball Nationals found a new home in Co Tyrone but in the Men's Open grade it was very much business as usual as Conor McElduff once again proved untouchable.
The Breacach clubman (31), playing on his home patch, won the annual event for a seventh time with a series of commanding performances that underlined his dominance of the code.
McElduff breezed through the early rounds, accounting for Armagh’s Conor McClean (31-9) and Tyrone’s Cahir Munroe (28-10) to set up a semi-final with close friend and training partner Paul Donnelly. The Tyrone pair know each other’s games inside out, but McElduff had too much firepower, easing into the final on a 31-9 scoreline.
On the opposite side of the draw, Cavan’s Ben Devlin battled through a demanding route, edging past rising star Fiachra Ó Dúill of Armagh 18-15. That victory booked Devlin’s first senior Wallball Nationals final, but in the decider he ran into a man who simply refuses to relinquish his crown.
Although Devlin started well and kept the exchanges tight, McElduff showed his class when it mattered. Pulling away in the closing stages, he sealed a 21-14 win to claim yet another Open Singles crown.
"The Wallball Nationals is a special tournament, it gets the whole handball community together and it’s great to kind of have everyone in the same venue, to watch a bit of ball and support each other," McElduff said afterwards.
The Women’s Open followed a similar script, with Limerick’s Martina McMahon continuing her incredible streak across three codes of the game. The Broadford left-hander had too much experience for Clare’s Leah Minogue and Armagh’s Cailiosa Ní Dhúill before sweeping aside world 4-Wall champion Ciana Ní Churraoin 30-13 in the final.
