Liscarroll Handball to commemorate Tim Healy
THE long held, but unfulfilled dream of the late Tim Healy of Liscarroll to have a state of the art handball court in his native village is about to become a reality through the efforts of the local Handball Club led by chairman Pat O’Brien.
The newly refurbished handball court will be opened in late 2018 thanks to the donations of sponsors and the people of Liscarroll, Churchtown, Ballyhea, Newtownshandrum, Dromina, Freemount, Charleville, Kilbrin, Ballyclough, Lisgriffin, Kanturk, Buttevant and Mallow, who have contributed handsomely to their 500 Club fund raising draw for the project, which takes place at 8pm on Friday the 8th December at Liscarroll Handball Club, Castle Street in the village.
“The support we received from everybody is a tribute to the memory of Tim Healy, who was known far and wide throughout the North Cork area and beyond, through his association with the GAA and handball and we extend our sincere thanks to all who assisted us in our quest for finance,” said club chairman Pat O’Brien.
The late Tim Healy, who is described as a man of great vision, dedicated his sporting life to the GAA on the field of play and he was also a referee of note in North Cork GAA circles. The ancient game of handball had been played in his native Liscarroll for hundreds of years, firstly against the walls of Liscarroll Castle and then in an alley on land donated in 1987 by the legendary Commandant Paddy O’Brien of the War of Independence fame and his family. The alley was built by voluntary labour by people from the local community. The present chairman of the club is Pat O’Brien, a son of the O’Brien family, who donated the land to the community for the alley.
Through the years the Liscarroll Club has produced handball champions such as Michael Fitzgerald, a world champion of 1934, Jimmy Hurley and Tim Twohill, All-Ireland Champions of 1938. In Tim Healy’s day the likes of John Murphy and Paddy Supple (Charleville) were All-Ireland Champions of 1963, while in 1994 Liscarroll’s Pat O’Brien and Joe Collins were World Doubles Masters in 1994.
Nearer to our own time John Hedigan with Pat Flaherty were World Masters in the 40 x20 Court in 2006 and Shane Hedigan was Junior World Champion in 2009. Michael and Shane Hedigan won an All-Ireland for the Nagle Rice School in Doneraile and Daniel won the first 60 x 30 All-Ireland final for C.B.S. Charleville.
All of the players in later years would have come under the influence of Tim Healy, who, as well as being prominent in his own Liscarroll Club was also the chairman of the Cork County Handball Board and of the Munster Handball Board for many years. His unexpected death in June of this year came as the club had embarked on an extensive renovation programme, and which will now be completed in his memory to ensure the continuation of the great tradition of handball in Liscarroll.
An initiative of the Liscarroll Club headed up by Pat O’Brien and Tim in 1994, and with help from Peter Dennehy of the Cork County Handball Board, saw the inauguration of the Munster Open Under 13 and Under 15 Boys and Girls Singles Competition, which was and still is an outstanding success, attracting young handballers from all over Ireland.
“Most of the best adult handballers in the country today have come through this competition, which is held in Liscarroll over the Christmas season each year. This year our young players like Michael Hedigan, Daniel Relihan and John Hedigan, with Ger Healy will be running this competition,” said Pat O’Brien.
The people from the surrounding communities have unstintingly lent their support to the Liscarroll Handball Club project, and one such person was Gerry Murphy, the man who has made the modern Churchtown village what it is today. His advice, expertise in design and general on-going support was invaluable in the preparation for the fund-raising aspect of the renovation and building project.
An amusing anecdote from the funding exercise arose when Willie Relihan, one of the collectors, who is a well-known singer and recording artist in his own right, was asked in several houses to sing one of the songs he had recorded entitled ‘The Old Donkey Car.’ Willie duly obliged and the family donation was secured for the project.
“We are extremely grateful and extend sincere thanks to all our sponsors and to everybody from our own Liscarroll and the communities in the surrounding towns, who contributed to our requests for financial support to see this project through and put in place a facility that Tim Healy would be proud of. We hope to see as many as possible at the draw on the 8th December next in Liscarroll,” said Pat O’Brien.
Anybody still wishing to procure a ticket for the draw on the 8th December, or indeed make a donation, may contact the chairman Pat O’Brien at 0870696124, Ger Healy, Secretary at 087-9814643, Willie Relihan at 086-2288292, John Hedigan at 086-8596348, or Timmy Jones at 086-1723552.