Team Ireland captains Robbie McCarthy (Westmeath) and Fiona Tully (Roscommon). Photo: Stephen Marken
By Paul Fitzpatrick
While the oneills.com World 4-Wall Handball Championships are a true celebration of the game, catering for the mass participation market, the elite end will naturally garner most of the headlines, which is the norm in all sporting pursuits.
The tournament serves off tomorrow (Saturday) at the National Handball and Community Centre at Croke Park and various Leinster venues, with the blue riband Open grades commencing on Monday and finishing the following Sunday.
The Open grades are particularly strong, with both attracting world-class fields.
At one time, the leading Irish 4-Wall players lagged well behind their American counterparts but that has changed in the last 20 years, with trailblazers like Tony Healy and Paul Brady qualifying for pro stops in the early noughties and Brady going on to dominate the scene in the States.
In recent years, however, a strong crop of American, Mexican and Canadian players have come to the fore, many of them graduates of the strong collegiate system which has been bolstered by the arrival of quite a few talented young Irish players on scholarships, a trickle which is threatening to turn into a torrent and opens a world of possibilities for the promotion of the game over here.
The likes of ‘the Flying Cordovas’ (Daniel and Luis, natives of Juarez, Mexico and competing on the American tour), Leo Canales, Ivan Burgos and Sam Esser to name just a few all competing strongly on the pro tour at present – and that is not even to mention Illinois man Ray Ure, who, at 22, recently became the youngest player to make the final of an Open Singles tournament on the WPH Race4Eight tour.
So, it’s fair to say that the Irish won’t have it all their own way in the Men’s Open this week. In the Women’s, however, it would represent a seismic shock if the title didn’t stay on these shores.
Even with Catriona Casey, the most decorated active female player in the game, unfortunately missing out due to an injury picked up at the World Wallball Championships in Limerick, the Irish boast a very strong hand, with the likes of Ciana Ní Churraoin, Martina McMahon, Fiona Tully and Eilise McCrory all world-class performers in their own right who have competed at the business end of major singles tournaments at home and abroad.
Throw into the mix All-Ireland doubles champion Niamh Heffernan, former senior softball finalist Cuileann Bourke and young Kildare player Mollie Dagg, who reached the softball final this year and showed tremendous form in the 4-Wall All-Irelands and there is the makings of a deep draw.
The Irish men have a stellar squad, led by All-Ireland Senior Singles champion Robbie McCarthy. His match with Paul Brady in the All-Ireland final last April attracted a sell-out attendance to HQ and generated a huge buzz in the sport and, crucially, outside of it, with Brady’s return attracting a lot of welcome media attention.
McCarthy won the match on an injury default, admitting in his post-match interview that he was “gutted” the match ended the way it did. The Mullingar maestro will be determined to go all the way again but there will be nothing easy in this tournament for any player.
The Men’s Open field is arguably the strongest assembled in decades for any 4-Wall event, with very few of what is generally regarded as the top 30 to 40 players in the world not in the mix.
Texas based Martin Mulkerrins is on a hot streak of form.
Brady, champion in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015, is back and heading the field is Martin Mulkerrins, who has been on a glorious run on the American circuit, winning five events in succession.
The Texas-based Galwegian will be many people’s favourite to win the title and will take to the court against the winner of Canada-based Kildare lefty Niall O’Connor, a former underage foe of Mulkerrins’, and American John Chapman, brother of the late and great David.
Killian Carroll, another ‘transplant’ who is a native of Mallow but domiciled in Boston, needs no introduction; while his form on the pro tour hasn’t been as impressive as it was in other seasons, Carroll has the athleticism and shot-making ability to beat anyone and holds wins over all of the best active players, including Brady. Carroll will face the winner of Caolán Daly and Abraham Montijo in his first match.
2022 All-Ireland Senior Singles champion Diarmaid Nash, who was troubled with a back injury during the All-Ireland this year, is another very dangerous entrant. Dublin-based, Nash is very comfortable in the show court at Croke Park and has the experience, defensive nous and two-handed attack to take out anyone on his day.
David Walsh, semi-finalist in the Senior Singles, may not have won a major singles title yet but he has youth on his side; superbly conditioned, his power and spin serves will carry him a long way. He takes on a tricky opponent in 6ft 8 American Max Langmack in his round of 32 contest.
Elsewhere, Mark Doyle and Shane Dunne, former teammates at Mankato University in Minnesota, have been drawn against each other in the opening round in what looks likely to be a close clash.
McCarthy, number two seed, meets the winner of Seamus Coneely and former All-Ireland minor medallist Stephen Cooney, originally from Ballaghadereen but now based in California.
All in all, a feast of top-class handball is in store. The A, B and C grades, in singles and doubles, as well as the Over 40 grades in particular are absolute minefields, with large entries and what looks a particularly lofty standard across the board.
In the Men’s Open Doubles, Carroll and Mulkerrins have joined forces, with McCarthy and Joe McCann the official Irish representatives; those pairs fill the number one and two slots respectively.
McCann, 42, last represented Ireland as a 14-year-old and has in recent months spearheaded a fundraising campaign called CJ’s Rainbow Cycle in memory of his infant son CJ, who tragically passed away. For that reason, a win for the popular McCann and partner McCarthy would certainly be an emotional occasion.
Among the other strong pairings are Daniel and Luis Cordova and Peter and Patrick Funchion as well as Corkmen Daniel Relihan and Michael Hedigan, who won their maiden Senior 4-Wall Doubles All-Ireland in an 11-10 tiebreaker against Clare’s Nash and Colin Crehan this year.
The Bannermen, the pre-eminent doubles pair in the ‘small court’ in recent years, go again together and they will also prove formidable, with vast experience and a near-perfect blend of styles.
In the Ladies Open Doubles, All-Ireland champions Ní Churraoin and Heffernan are top seeds, with the lefty-righty pairings of McCrory and Tully and McMahon/Aoife McCarthy also in with a huge say.
The underage grades have attracted a massive entry in both boys and girls competitions, with most of the entrants drawn from Ireland and a decent spread of titles around the various counties almost guaranteed.
“Following on from a great event in Limerick, we are looking forward to another this week and I would like to wish all players, staff and volunteers the very best of luck,” stated Ard Stiurthóir Tom Ryan at the opening ceremony in Kilkenny last night (Thursday).
“This is a huge undertaking and I salute each of the volunteers who have made this happen.
“Handball is a very important part of the GAA family and we all look forward to 10 days of world class handball and camaraderie which I have no doubt will help this great game continue on its upward trajectory.”
Matches will be streamed live on the Spórt TG4 YouTube channel, with an hour-long special to be televised on Monday week.
All draws and schedules are available on knowthescore.ie.