Crossakiel Handball Report 2010 by Michael McGee P.R.O.
Crossakiel Handball Court re-opens
Tuesday November 10th 2009 will go down in Club history as it was the day a meeting was arranged to decide the future of the Club. For many years the club remained shut and it was a major disappointment to me and many others. The evening before the historic meeting I got a call from Eugene O’Reilly to say a meeting had been arranged and it looked like the club would re-open. I was in my hospital bed in Dublin awaiting spinal surgery the following day. When I got the call from Eugene it was the best news I had heard in years and it was better than any anaesthetic and it is something I will always be grateful to Eugene for that phonecall. It was ironic the day after the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall Crossakiel held its historic meeting and our own walls came alive to the sound of cracking handballs once again. Niamh Egan Promotions & Media Officer chaired the meeting and Steve Quinn was elected Chairman.
Great exposure for the Club in local press radio and website
Almost immediately members helped out getting the club ready for handball and many hours were spent getting lights installed, showers and toilets working, painting etc. I was delighted to be asked to consider the position as P.R.O. something that I did not give 1 second to consider. Shortly afterwards I set up the Club website it is http://crossakiel.handball.meath.gaa.ie. I would go on to say it is one of the best club handball sites in the country and even better than man County websites as well. I want to acknowledge the support I received from Eugene O’Reilly and Susan Farrell in this regard. Also I am more than happy to update the site on a weekly basis and keep the local press/radio abreast of all the news from the Club. I have also introduced the Club newsletter and the Club handball blog page. Susan has the Club site on the bebo page which is also another excellent medium to have at our disposal. I want to thank all the local papers Meath Chronicle Connall Collier, Fergal Lynch, Meath Weekender Paul McCabe, Liam O’Rouke. Meath Post David Jennings and LMFM’S Colm Corrigan & Brendan Cummins for all their excellent coverage of handball from our club throughout the year.
In competitive action Eugene O’Reilly took part in the Leinster 40 x 20 Junior B singles and doubles. In the singles Eugene reached the 3rd round but was up against a very strong opponent in Wexford’s Darren O’Toole. This match was played in Leixlip and it went the full distance. The final score was 12-21, 21-12, 21-2 win for the Wexford man. In the doubles Eugene teamed up with Kells Club man Peter Flanagan and they went all the way to the Leinster final. Their 1st game was against Wexford’s Mick Dononavan & Ronan Greene in Ballymore Eustace on Thursday January 14th last and they got off that hurdle by comfortably winning 21-8, 21-10. Their next outing was against Daniel Reilly & Ken Ginty (Dublin) again winning in straight games. Their quarter final contest was a real cliff hanger when they faced Kilkenny’s Paul Clifford & Sean Quigley. The duo had some memorable games on the way to the final. It didn’t look good as “the cats” went into a huge 18-9 lead. Somehow and from somewhere Eugene & Peter woke up and began to string a few scores together and with great heart and fighting spirit they staged a remarkable comeback against all the odds to stun the Kilkenny men and literally steal the 1st game from under the noses of their opponents by 21-18. The 2nd game was equally close but Meath held firm to record a great 21-17 in game 2. This set them up for the semi-final against another Kilkenny team in the form of brothers Brendan & Diarmuid Burke from the Kells Club in Kilkenny. Eugene & Peter played well and won by 21-14, 21-10. Eugene & Peter had now qualified for their 2nd doubles final in a row. But they were to face the might of Wexford’s Paul Lambert & Peter Hughes. Just 3 weeks earlier Lambert played with Wexford senior player Gavin Buggy as they defeated Dublin’s Eoin Kennedy & Egin Jensen in the Leinster senior championships. Dublin were the All-Ireland senior 40 x 20 doubles champions in 2005. The Leinster final was fixed for Ballymore Eustace on Thursday March 11th last unfortunately for Eugene & Peter went down to a strong Wexford pairing of Paul Lambert & Peter Hughes by 21-11, 21-13. Fingers crossed that the 2011 campaign will see the breakthrough for Eugene for all his efforts. Longford hosted this year’s Leinster Convention and I was extremely pleased to see John Reilly Snr and Jnr representing the club at Convention. Eugene took part in the Irish Handball Nationals sponsored by Ladbrokes. The event took place in Ulster venues from April 30th-May 2nd last. Unfortunately he went down narrowly in Round 2.
O’Reilly conquers Canada
Eugene O’Reilly travelled out to Burlington Ontario for the Canadian Nationals that took place from May 19-22nd last. Eugene won 2 Canadian handball titles and that is a magnificent achievement. Eugene won the doubles with Kells man Peter Flanagan. It is a week that Eugene will never forget in handball. And we as a club are very proud of his achievements and I know Eugene wants to return to Canada and win more titles. Eugene is the 2nd Crossakiel club player to win 2 Canadian titles the last being Michael McGee who achieved the same feat in Vancouver back in 2002.
The same weekend Michael Gaynor was creating another small piece of club history as he represented Crossakiel in the Junior hardball singles in Mullingar. Unfortunately he went down by 21-16, 21-3 to Galway’s Kevin Craddock.
Crossakiel enter in Leinster Club Championships
The Club entered in the Leinster Club 60 X 30 Championships for the 1st time in over 15 years. It was an historic occasion eventhough the result was not was hoped for. In the end the team of Michael Gaynor, Mark Farrell, John Farrell and Steven Quinn were well beaten by a very strong Coolgreaney side from Wexford. The match was played in the Na Fianna Club in Dublin. The team it has to be said was playing a grade above themselves and hopefully next year in the proper grade the team will give a good account of themselves then. In the Leinster 60 X 30 Championships Steven Quinn and Michael Gaynor performed admirably well before going down to opponents in the 1st rd. Steven unlucky to be beaten by 21-20 to Wicklow’s James Gregan while Michael Gaynor also went very close in a rearranged fixture in Crossakiel before falling to Laois’s Michael Donovan by 21-12, 21-19. While the doubles of Steven Quinn & Mark Farrell were beaten by the O’Brien brothers of Offaly in Mullingar. Michael Gaynor & Joe Cummins from the Kells Club were defeated by Kilkenny opponents as was John & Vinny Farrell. Crossakiel were represented at the National 1-Wall Championships in early July by Eugene O’Reilly Men’s B and Michael McGee Masters B. Eugene reached the plate semi-finals in the B singles while Michael also reached the plate semi’s in the Masters singles. There was a record entry of 400 in 21 grades and hopefully next year will see more Crossakiel players entering. Eugene O’Reilly & Peter Flanagan entered into the Leinster open one-wall competition an event they won last year. In an ironic twist of fate despite defeating Wicklow’s Jerome & Richard Willoughby in the early rounds it was the Wicklow men who went on to win the final.
Farrell outstanding
In the Michael Black invitational tournament run by the Kells Club an Junior/Masters grade was added and Crossakiel hosted a number of matches over the weekend. Steven Quinn & Mark Farrell and Michael Gaynor represented the club. And what a weekend it was for Mark Farrell. Mark teamed up with Robbie McCarthy snr and the duo went all the way. It was an excellent achievement for Mark. In the final they were up against John Boy Molloy & Peter Flanagan and were down 8-21 to the Kells men. Against all the odds Farrell & McCarthy fought back with true grit and determination and were rewarded for their efforts when they stunned the Kells men by 21-15. In the tie breaker Farrell in a fairytale showing rolling out shots from all over the place and McCarthy’s wise old head ensured the tournament was coming back to Crossakiel. A tremendous achievement for Mark who has been out of the game for a long time. His great spirit and natural ability shone through and I’m sure Mark will be achieving even greater handball wins in the years to come.
McGee win’s Connacht handball title
Sunday August 1st will go down in Club history as this was the day the Crossakiel club won it’s 1st Provincial title at adult level when Michael McGee and Martin Cooney representing Sligo claimed the Masters B doubles title in Williamstown Co.Galway. It was an historic achievement for the club with the first adult provincial title in the club’s 90 year history. The duo defeated Mayo’s Joe Dowling & James Towey over 3 games 17-21, 21-12, 21-9 the final score. Four days later Eugene O’Reilly & Peter Flanagan contested the Leinster Junior B doubles title in the Na Fianna Club in Dublin on Thursday 5TH August last and again the duo had to contend themselves with the runner-up spot going down by 21-14, 21-15 to Wexford’s Noel Holohan & Peter Hughes. I want to wish Eugene & Peter the very best for 2011 in their quest to win the Leinster title. In the All-Ireland Masters B doubles semi-final played in Kells Michael McGee & Martin Cooney played Joe Lynch & Christy McGovern on August 29th last. Michael & Martin were well beaten by the Kells men on the day by 21-5, 21-6.
McGee Tournament
Michael McGee sponsored the 60 x 30 tournament with Sligo. It proved a fantastic weekend for our club players who defeated a strong Sligo side by 160-155. The games took place in Collooney on Saturday September 10th last. Crossakiel club players on the day were Steven Quinn, Mark Farrell, Michael Gaynor, Vinny Farrell, Eugene O’Reilly, John Farrell and Michael McGee. It was an historic occasion for the club and a notable achievement to beat a County side. The club unveiled its new sponsored P. Carney shirts in Sligo and it made quite an impression. Eddie Brady made the long journey down to Sligo and he will be best remembered walking into the Collooney court at the height of Steven Quinn’s game with Francis McCann. It was probably the turning point in the contest as Sligo never fully recovered following Eddie’s divine intervention at that moment. A Fantastic weekend for the club and they celebrated their fine success in Sligo that evening. Michael McGee lined out with Crossakiel and he was the proudest Crossakiel player there being part of the team wearing the new club shirts.
On Saturday 18TH September last members painted the alley. The wet drizzly conditions outside did not dampen the spirits inside as the likes of Steven Quinn, David Reilly, Mark, John & Vinny Farrell, Michael Gaynor, Fergus Higgins, Eddie Brady & Michael McGee all worked hard in getting the court ready for action. It was a great team display and it goes to show that the members have pride in their club and it was heart warming to say the least. By 4 that evening the entire court was finished and looking in pristine condition like it did for the opening in 1986.
Crossakiel Handball Alley wins Prestigious Award
Last September the Club won “The Pride of Place Award 2010” from the Meath County Council. It is an award greatly richly deserved by the club and members worked hard restoring the club to its former glory.
McConnell & Reilly magnificent in McDermott Cup
Sixteen teams entered in the Junior/Masters section for the McDermott Cup. A number of teams entered from the Club. Michael Gaynor & Eugene O’Reilly had victory within their grasp but let it slip towards the end and Leitrim’s Jamie Murray & Eddie Lee stole into the second round by 31-28. Steven Quinn & Mark Farrell were beaten by Ger McGrath & Dan Breen from Kilkenny. Pat McCabe teamed up with Sligo’s Mark Murphy. They beat John Reilly & Kevin Reilly in the 1st game but were well beaten by the eventual winners in Gary McConnell & Peter Reilly. Michael McGee & Sligo’s Francis McCann lost 31-30 to Kells Jimmy Reilly & Anthony McConnell. John & Vinny Farrell also went down to Louth’s John Kelly & Sean Devlin in the semi-final of the plate by the same score. Kells teams dominated the tournament filling 3 of the 4 semi-final placings. The final was won Gary McConnell & Peter Reilly defeating Christy McGovern & John “Boy”Molloy by 21-11, 14-21, 21-11. The final was one of the best doubles games I have seen in many years and it shows how high the bar has been set by the Kells players. The Official re opening and cutting of the tape was undertaken by Frank Reilly, Mrs McEachen & Richie McDermott.
“Coach of the Year Award” for Eugene O’Reilly
Club coach Eugene O’Reilly was nominated for Coach of the Year Award by Leinster. It was a tremendous achievement by Eugene and just rewards for all the work he has done in starting up a Juvenile section in the club. Eugene was presented with his award at the Irish Handball Council’s All-Star Awards evening in Croke Park on Saturday November 27th last.
Juveniles
Historic wins for Gary Reilly & Sarah McDermott in Club’s first Juvenile event.
The Club held its first tournament for the Juveniles on Sunday December 27th last. I remember the roads were very slippy from the icy conditions but it was going to take more to stop me making the journey. As it turned out Gary Reilly beat Ricky McDermott by 21-5 in the boys final while Ricky’s sister Sarah won the girls round robin finale. James Baugh, Johnny Reilly, Jack Tunney, Hugh McCaffrey, Eoghan McCabe, Thomas Briody, Deborah McCabe, Aoife Tunney, Sarah McDermott, Gary Reilly & Ricky McDermott all participated in the Christmas competition. The competition took place about 4 weeks after Eugene took over the coaching duties and I must admit that I was pleased and surprised by the level of skill by these young club people. It certainly warmed my heart standing in the court on that cold December day.
Meath Juvenile titles for Johnny Reilly & Gary Reilly
The Meath Juvenile 60 x 30 trials took place in Crossakiel and there were wins for Johnny Reilly in the U-15 final when he beat Colin McGovern (Kells) by 15-13, 15-3. While in the U-16 final it was an all Crossakiel clash with Gary Reilly dft James Baugh by 15-9, 15-10. John Reilly, Gary Reilly and James Baugh all represented Meath in the 1st round of the Leinster championships v Kildare in Kells on Tuesday 20th July last. Gary Reilly & James Baugh had an agonizing 1 pt defeat to Kildare opponents in the 1st rd of Leinster while Johnny Reilly also came unstuck against Dublin’s Niall McKenna. Cormac Gilsenan & Colin McGovern had a good 1st round win over Dublin in the Boys U-15 doubles but lost to Wexford’s Jack Roche & Stephen Greene by the narrow margain of 15-8, 8-15, 14-15 in the following round.
The U14/15 team championships consisting of Robert Fox, Evan Sheridan, Dylan Sheridan, Colin McGovern, Cormac Gilsenan & Johnny Reilly both Crossakiel suffered a narrow defeat to a stronger Carlow side, losing in the end by 26 aces after a solid performance from the Meath side.
Johnny Reilly beat Jack Tunney in the plate Juvenile final of the McDermott Cup. Evan Sheridan proved too strong for Jonathan Grimes in the Cup final. Earlier that evening Reilly was a member of the Ballinlough U-15 team that won the County final and congratulations to Johnny on his achievements on the football field.
Baugh is Leinster Champion
In the Leinster B Juvenile 60 x 30 Championships James Baugh representing Crossakiel and Meath pulled out all the steps as the emerged the winner after a thrilling final against Kildare’s Martin O’Donnell in Ballymore Eustace. Baugh played exceptional handball on the way to a memorable win. Baugh was unlucky in game one with a narrow 20-21 deficit to O’Donnell but hit back in true Royal County fashion. With grit and determination he held firm to record a fantastic 21-14 win game 2 and in the deciding final game he overpowered the young Kildare man by 21-6. It will be a Leinster success that I expect James will never forget.
This year has been a memorable year in the history of the club with national and international honours gained by our club players. A huge amount of work has been undertaken by the committee and this was very evident as members came out in big numbers to paint the alley on 18th September last. All the hard work undertaken really paid off as the court was in excellent playing condition for the McDermott Cup. It was one of the best run tournaments that I have ever attended and well done to everyone for making it happen
