Reputations on the line at the County Handball Championships

SPORTING reputations will be put firmly on the line this weekend when the Kerry Handball 60x30 championships take place in Ballymacelligott. The top players in Kerry will battle it out for the prestigious title on Sunday where past form, including National and Provincial titles, will not guarantee success in what promises to be a day of explosive action peppered with some expected surprises.

The programme will kick off with the County semi finals where Jack O’Shea (Glenbeigh) takes on the very promising young Ballymacelligott star, Daire Keane in the opening game.

Following an exciting 40x20 season, pride of place was reserved for Keane who won the All Ireland Junior B Singles title in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan. He defeated the highly fancied Ciaran Crotters from Antrim 21-12 and 21-14 in the final to claim his first National title.

Keane is an exciting player and will hold no fear as he takes on Jack O’Shea. Both players are masters in the court and fans can expect a titanic and highly entertaining contest before a winner is finally crowned ensuring a place in the final.

Jack O’Shea reached the Munster Intermediate final in Cullen where he lost narrowly to David Walsh (Waterford), a player he defeated in the All Ireland Junior final earlier in the year. O’Shea also reached the quarter finals of the All Ireland 60x40 Open Singles and then partnered with David Walsh to reach the quarter finals of the Men’s A Doubles where they lost to Paul Lambert and Padraig Haughton (Wexford) 15-8 and 15-9.

In the second semi-final on Sunday, Danny Riordan (Ballymacelligott) will take on Dominick Lynch from Glenbeigh who brought the season to a fruitful conclusion recently when he flew the Kerry flag with pride and success winning the All Ireland 60x30 Masters A Singles final in Clare. In the final he defeated Andy Moran (Mayo) 21-9 and 21-7.

Lynch also won the Munster title in Limerick some weeks previously with a 21-7 and 21-18 victory over Paul Mullins (Tipperary). On current form he will be difficult to beat on Sunday.

With lots of vocal home support Riordan, the Munster Junior B 60x30 semi-finalist, will have no fears when he takes on Lynch. A dedicated and committed player, he knows his way around the Ballymacelligott court. He will need to use his finely honed skills to the maximum if he is to create an upset at the championships.