Irish Handball v Drink and Drugs GAA stars, past and present, turned out to launch this weekend's handball marathon in the famed Kilkenny club of Talbot's Inch on Wednesday July 30th. The 72-hour marathon is being run by the club's own handball hero, Michael 'Ducksy' Walsh to raise money for the Aislinn Centre, which caters for the drink and drug rehabilitation of young adults. Former Tipperary hurling legend, JOHN LEAHY, and five time All-star Kilkenny hurler, JOE HENNESSY, were on hand to launch the event in Kilkenny, where hundreds of handballers will converge on Talbot's Inch between Friday and Monday next in a bid to enter the Guinness Book of Records. "It's going to be a busy weekend but handball people have given me great support in the past and I know this weekend will be no different," said the 38-time All-Ireland Senior champion. At 42, Walsh is still in contention to take another singles title this year, but bowed out of the doubles last weekend. Over the next few days, however, his attention will be turned to the biggest fundraising he has ever pursued. "In the last few years, I have organised different things to raise money for Aiseirí, but now I want to help the young people and what the Aislinn Centre does is amazing," said Walsh. As a well-noted reformed alcoholic, the Kilkenny legend is putting a lot of effort back into the game of handball and is delighted to have so much support from the GAA community. "It's great that John and Joe were here today and Brian Cody has been very good in allowing a lot of the lads play in the tournament over the weekend," he said. One of the current legends of the modern game of hurling, Henry Shefflin will team up with Derek Lyng as the pair take on James McGarry and Martin Comerford on Saturday. More of the Cats Senior hurlers will take part in the marathon on Sunday, with one of handball's brightest prospects, Richie Hogan also set to display his big alley talent. In conjunction with the marathon launch, the Irish Handball Council also launched its policy against Drink and Drugs, with the GAA ASAP National Co-ordinator, Brendan Murphy in attendance. "As the country's largest community organisation, the GAA have taken an active role in preventing the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and it's great that handball have now put structures in place to support their fraternity," said Murphy. The ASAP Programme is a joint venture by the GAA and the Health Service Executive and is helping clubs prevent problems from arising in the first instance and respond effectively when they do. "We're not looking for people to become experts overnight in dealing with drug and alcohol problems but we are looking for people who are interested in doing something positive to prevent these problems from spreading through our clubs," he said. Action gets underway in Talbot's Inch at 10am on Friday, with the marathon concluding at 10am on Monday morning. Tweet

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