Rackard aces shine in finals
Ten schools take to courts
THE RACKARD League handball rolled around again this year, and the crack of the Challenger 2 ball could be heard once more in St. Joseph’s Community Centre.
This time around, ten schools took part over three days earlier this month. It was a fantastic competition, with long-established schools like Taghmon, Ferns and Coolgreany taking on new schools like the Mercy.
Mick Flood, Seamus Buggy and Gavin Buggy were on hand to manage the job of refereeing the games.
The Under-11 and Under-13 girls’ competition were held on the first day, with a very high standard.
In the Under-11 girls we had a great final between Chloe Murray from Ferns and Chloe Murphy of Crossabeg. Chloe from Crossabeg won out at the end of two great games.
In the Under-11 girls’ doubles final, Lea Bolger and Lillian Buddin of Glynn took on Alison Dunne and Ava Jordan-Dempsey from Ferns. In what proved to be another close contest, Ferns got over the line and won by five points over the two games.
In the Under-13 girls’ final, Ellie Murphy of Taghmon took on Kitty Roche from Screen. This again was a super game, featuring two girls with incredible skill.
After the two games, Kitty proved to be the stronger of the two and brought gold home to Screen.
In the Under-13 doubles final we had what many said was the game of the tournament, with Boo and Ali Murphy from Taghmon taking on Emily Hughes and Amber Cronin-Kelly of Coolgreany.
These four girls played out a thriller of a game, with Coolgreany squeaking through by one point in both games. It was a wonderful final, and both teams did their schools proud.
The Under-11 boys’ final was contested between Seán Heselton-Kavanagh of the Mercy and Charlie Roche from Screen.
It was a great game of handball, with Sean - who is a new player to the game - beaten by Charlie, who showed some fantastic skills and will have a bright future in the game.
The Under-11 boys’ doubles final was a competition between two of the Rackard League heavy-hitters, with Ferns and Taghmon facing each other.
Bobby Murray and Bill Moulds represented Ferns, while Micheál Murphy and Barry Foley togged out for Taghmon. In another great final, Taghmon came out on top.
The Under-13 boys’ final threw up a great game. Taghmon, who many would have tipped for the final, had been drawn against Coolgreany in the first round, with the north county school coming out on top in a nail-biting game.
Coolgreany then made it all the way to the final where they took on Ferns. Kenny Murphy and Jack Young togged out for Ferns and played with great drive and determination, but Eoin Kinsella and Ryan Murphy from Coolgreany proved too strong and won the gold.
The final match of the tournament was the boys’ Under-13 singles final. Here Jamie Moran from Rathgarogue took on Rory Goff from Glynn.
This was a tough, tight game that could have swung either way. The boys had faced each other in the county final the weekend before, and Jamie had come out on top, but Rory had set his heart on gold. In a superb game where both boys showed excellent skill and fantastic sportsmanship, Rory came out on top.
The last prize awarded was the shield to the school with the best participation. This went to the final day where, thanks to Kenny Murphy and Jack Young reaching the final of the boys’ Under-13 doubles, it ensured that Ferns took the shield.
It was a fantastic tournament, and special thanks must go to Sinéad Parnell from Donard N.S. and Éamonn Codd from the Mercy who organised the tournament this year, taking over from Colm O Tiarnaigh.
All winners will now go on to represent Wexford in the Leinsters in Castleknock. Best of luck to all the boys and girls.