We visit Coolboy for our weekly club focus
The future is bright as one tiny pocket of Wicklow keeps the handball flame burning
COOLBOY HANDBALL CLUB continues to keep their beloved game alive in a county where the sport is suffering a seemingly unstoppable decline.
Aside from positive glimmers of hope in Tinahely and Baltinglass in recent years it is the tiny pocket that produced the likes of Michael Gregan and Shauna Hilley that maintains a consistently high standard of player at various grades across all ages.
Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown the club was toiling hard on a daily basis with many players still active in the Leinster championships, their competitive younger members honing their skills and the next generation being inspired on a weekly basis at the juvenile training that has attracted huge numbers of young children from Coolboy and beyond.
It’s been 31 years since the Coolboy handball alley was built and unveiled to the local community and in that time it has served as a sporting arena, training base, social hub and whatever else it has been needed for. Dreams were born there, realised there and more are being cared for and guided along as we speak. It is a theatre of dreams and one the community and the people who work so hard to maintain it and keep the handball fires burning can be immensely proud of.
Coolboy’s James Gregan was only a nipper when the ribbon was cut on the big day in 1989 when the refurbished hall was opened. In the years that have followed he says that the game has become more popular and the successes and triumphs that weren’t even dreams back then were realised in the years that followed thanks to the work and dedication of a loyal group of club servants and some naturally gifted players.
‘Handball probably wouldn’t have been as popular as it is now,’ said James when asked about the difference between 1989 and now. ‘These days we have people travelling to America, England, Belgium to play handball. Back then you wouldn’t be dreaming of getting up on a plane. In fairness, back then Pat Lennon was winning All-Irelands, Richard Willoughby was winning all-Irelands, Pat Doyle was winning All-Irelands, my father was winning All-Irelands. Now they’ve progressed to winning world titles. Shauna Hilley is in Canada at the moment and she’s winning Canadian titles. Any time she wins anything over there she dedicates it to Coolboy Handball Club. If Shauna had stayed here, she’s be one of the top players without a doubt,’ said James.
Coolboy Handball Club are fighting the good fight in terms of keeping the tradition and game alive. Drive up the street past the alley on any winter night and the lights will be burning bright, pause for a moment and listen and you’ll hear the dull thud of the ball off the wall and the sounds of laughter.
Although everything is shut down at the moment the dream and the hope is that all the players young and old will be working away themselves at home with a ball and a wall and be ready and able when normality returns.
‘Thriving at the moment. We have about 15 juveniles competing at the moment, or ready to compete. We have 15 players up to the standard where we need them to be, to play the likes of the Kilkennys or the Wexfords. Kilkenny and Wexford would be on the ball so you have to put a lot of work in to be able to compete with them. To just carry on the flag that the likes of Michael (Gregan) or Shauna (Hilley) or Jerome (Willoughby) would have carried so well for us,’ said James Gregan.
Aside from those 15 youngsters there are also the healthy numbers of very young players who attend training with the likes of Michael Gregan and Patricia Doyle.
Handball in Wicklow is suffering, however. With only three registered clubs in the county and only a handful of players coming from outside of Coolboy it is a sport that is in bad need of help. James Gregan says that the sport could be of huge benefit to hurlers especially given the boost it provides in terms of hand-eye coordination.
‘We’ve only three registered clubs, Tinahely, Baltinglass and Tinahely (Baltinglass have no competing players as of yet). Hurlers should be playing handball for the hand-eye coordination in the winter. You read articles about DJ Carey and how good he was at passing the ball and how good his hand-eye coordination was. That was through handball.
‘All they need is a wall and a ball. If they have a hurling wall all they need is to get the ball and go left hand, right hand, work on their hand-eye coordination.
‘Baltinglass is open for Leinster matches, Arklow is closed, they have a court in Pearse’s Park, Donard’s was knocked down, Annamoe have a one wall and a 40x20 but they’re not registered. It’s thin on the ground. That’s why we’re pushing for our juveniles to keep going in Coolboy. If that was to die, I don’t know what would happen,’ he added.
Given the passion and love for the game that exists in the small community of Coolboy, it’s very unlikely that handball will die there