Glenbeigh’s Quirke is aiming for success on handball courts
KERRY handball, similar to Kerry GAA, seems to have an endless line of emerging young talent which guarantees long term success at local and National level.
A student from the Institute of Technology in Tralee was top of the class last October following his phenomenal success at the Inter Collegiate Handball championships in Wexford. Attracting players from all the major third level institutions in Ireland, Glenbeigh teenager Tommy Quirke came home with the prestigious All Ireland Inter Collegiate 60x30 Handball Grade C title after a hectic day in the court which saw him defeat some of the best handballers in Ireland.
No stranger to success, the Mid Kerry native is the holder of a 2018 Munster Senior Inter Club medal when he partnered with fellow Glenbeigh players Jack O’Shea, Dominick Lynch, John Joe Quirke and Rory O’Connor to victory in the 2018 Provincial 40x20 final, which took place in Mallow.
“Winning the All Ireland title in Wexford in October was an amazing experience for me. I am a relative novice in this sport and this is wonderful platform to build on. It was a busy weekend in Wexford with the preliminary games played in the morning to decided if we were to contest the A, B or C categories.
“In the opening game I played Aena Woods from NUI Galway and was delighted to win on a 15-4 and 15-7 scoreline. This saw me progress in the competition and take on Darragh McKerins also from Galway. I lost this one 15-7 and 15-13 which ensured a place in the C competition,” said Tommy, a Pre Garda and Legal Studies student.
Having secured a win in the A, B and C competition, Tommy automatically qualified for the C quarter final where he played Alan Hewhan from Dublin City University.
Playing some superb handball, Quirke ran out a convincing winner 15-2 and 15-4. This set him up for a semi-final with Éanna Woods from NUI Galway where he recorded another superb victory, 15-7 and 15-5.
“The final was against Conrad Kewal from IT Dundalk and was played at a frantic pace. In fairness the final scoreline of 15-7 and 15-5 is not a true re- flection on the intensity of the game. I was thrilled to win and delighted to bring an All Ireland title to Tralee.”
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IT 2019/2020 season has also been a busy time for the Glenbeigh teenager. In November he was part of the Glenbeigh team that reached the Munster 40x20 Inter Club finals in Ballydesmond. The Glenbeigh team of Tommy Quirke, John Joe Quirke, Jack O’Shea and Dominick Lynch lost narrowly to Mallow.
“Winning an All Ireland Inter Club title would be the pinnacle of success for Glenbeigh. It’s something we are all aiming for. Essentially the game is an individual sport but the Inter Club competitions affords us the opportunity to play as a team. This entails training as a team and is an enjoyable aspect of handball.”
In 2018 Glenbeigh won the Munster Inter Club title, but suffered defeat in the All Ireland final by a very strong Wicklow side represented by Coolboy.
“This was the fifth time the Glenbeigh club suffered defeat in the All Ireland final. In 2019 we lost to Kells from Kilkenny in the All Ireland final. Currently a very positive aspect of the sport in Glenbeigh is the emergence of some very good juvenile players. This is the life blood of handball in the region and will strengthen the strong tradition of handball in Mid Kerry.”
Last year Quirke and his brother Seán won the Senior Munster Colleges 40x20 Handball title representing Presentation Secondary School in Milltown.
During the current season, which is presently disrupted due to the Corona virus, Quirke reached the Munster 40x20 Junior B Doubles Quarter Final playing alongside Jason McKenna (Glenbeigh). They lost in a tight game to Jerry Foley and Niall Quinn (Tipperary).
“There is still a lot of handball to be played this year in a variety of competitions. I am looking forward to the challenge and hopefully some success. I love handball and the many challenges it affords players. It’s definitely a sport that would improve agility and fitness in younger participants.”
An all round sportsman, Tommy Quirke plays Gaelic football with Glenbeigh / Glencar helping them to win the Kerry Central Division 2 title in 2019. He is also an accomplished basketball player with the Glenbeigh Falcons.