Handball on the rise
April 30, 20102009 will be remembered as one of relative success for Westmeath handball, but definitely one when the foundations for the future were laid.
Despite his best efforts, Mullingar's Robbie McCarthy was unable to claim the county's first All-Ireland senior title at Croke Park in September. McCarthy was making his debut appearance in a senior final while his Dublin opponent, Eoin Kennedy, was bidding for his sixth title in succession. Kennedy hit top form in the final and defeated the Lake County man 21-9, 21-7.
"It was disappointing to lose in the final, but Eoin played very well and there was nothing I could do to stop him," the 21-year-old Lynn Heights resident said.
In defeating McCarthy, Kennedy's claimed his 20th senior crown across all handball codes, having already amassed nine senior softball and eight senior hardball crowns, as well as a 40x20 senior singles and doubles All-Ireland. However, many astute followers of the sport believe it is only a matter of time before former underage prodigy McCarthy knocks Kennedy off his perch.
"He has the talent, but he needs to really push himself to get up to the next level," says McCarthy's father and mentor Robbie McCarthy Snr.
"He probably surpassed expectations by reaching the All-Ireland final so soon after coming up from juvenile handball. It would have been asking a lot of him to beat a player of Eoin Kennedy's calibre and experience at his first attempt. They say you have to lose one before you can win one and hopefully that will apply to Robbie.
"He is still finding his feet in senior handball and he still has a lot of developing to do both mentally and physically. It's the same as a footballer or hurler stepping up from minor to senior. It doesn't happen overnight."
The final was an intense battle and Kennedy opened with intent, taking an early 2-0 lead before McCarthy edged into contention, hitting two sublime killshots. Kennedy then pushed into top gear and stormed into a 9-2 lead. The Dubliner looked to have unnerved his Lake County opponent, and despite McCarthy's best efforts, Kennedy showed just why he is the king of the big alley and picked aces at ease to go 15-7 ahead. McCarthy responded with a wonderful killshot to lift his loyal support but he managed to collect just two further points before Kennedy sealed the first game, 21-9.
The second game served up an identical plot to the first, and while McCarthy played some impressive handball, he was unable to maintain the pace of his Dublin opponent, who took his seventh All-Ireland senior title with a 21-7 win. McCarthy, however, is likely to return to the All-Ireland stage very soon.
At the World Handball Championships in Portland, Oregon in October, there were four Westmeath representatives, with McCarthy showing he can mix it up with the Americans, as well as the Irish. He paired up with Meath's Brian Carroll in the men's open doubles and the duo defeated number two seeds, Emmett Peixoto and Allan Garner of the USA in the quarter-final, only to lose out to Ireland's Eoin Kennedy and Michael Finnegan in the semi-final.
Robbie's sister, Aoife, also travelled Stateside for the championships, and despite playing some top handball, went out to Mayo's Amy Corrigan at the quarter-final stage. She did, however, reach the final of the 17 and Under One-Wall final. In the doubles, she paired up with Corrigan, but the duo were defeated by Cork's Catriona Casey and Aisling O'Keefe in the quarter-final. Robbie McCarthy Snr also competed in the championships..
Tang's Niamh Egan was also in action and lost out in the quarter-final of her singles event, and along with Laois partner, Aisling Behan, lost in the semi-finals of the doubles on an 11-10 tiebreaker to Canada's Kira Toxopesus and Steiske Van Deike.
In total, Ireland won 37 world titles, and with the World Championships coming to these shores in 2012, hopes are high that the Emerald Isle will continue its winning ways.
Assuming he can continue his current rate of progress, Robbie McCarthy could be a leading contender at those Championships, but his father is taking nothing for granted.
"The likes of Paul Brady, Tony Healy and Eoin Kennedy aren't getting any younger, so there should be an opportunity for him to break into the elite in the next few years. He's training with Brady, Michael Finnegan and Michael 'Duxie' Walsh at the moment and that should stand to him. But Robbie knows himself that he needs to put the work in if he wants to make it to the top."
At local level, the main talking point was the formation of new clubs in Delvin, Ballynacargy and Streamstown/Kilbeggan. These clubs will bring a new lease of life to the county scene and already Streamstown/Kilbeggan has tasted some success with victory in the Leinster Special interclub final. It is hoped that another club in Ballymore will be up-and-running by the end of the year.
"We had our first AGM in 10 years in February and four clubs are now registered in the county - Mullingar, Delvin, Ballynacargy and Streamstown/Kilbeggan. Efforts are also being made to revive handball in Ballymore," Robbie explains.
"Slowly but surely, the interest is coming back into it. In the past, a lot of people were lost to the sport, including fellas who had played in All-Ireland finals at juvenile level. We need to nurture every player we can and to keep them involved. Handball is unique in that you can play the sport to whatever age you like. It's a sport for life."
Robbie continued: "Jim Fogarty from Streamstown/Kilbeggan will represent us at county board level which is another positive development. It will certainly help to improve relations between us and Westmeath GAA."
A highlight of the past 12 months was the long-awaited opening of Delvin's splendid new handball alley in the centre of the town. The opening had been delayed by a lengthy process involving the transfer of the lease from Westmeath County Council. Over 50 people attended the inaugural meeting of the new club which long-standing trustee Terry Moore described as the "beginning of a new and exciting era in its history."
The new Westmeath handball executive has Ballynacargy's Niall Maher as its chairman, Robbie McCarthy Snr from Mullingar as secretary and Anthony Mulligan of Streamstown as treasurer. Tweet
