First Senior Championship Match For Fenagh Handball Alley

The 2014 M Donnelly 60×30 Championship is commencing and Fenagh Handball Alley has been chosen to host the Mens Open Senior Championship first round match between Roscommons Rikki OGara and James Brady of Cavan to be played there on Wednesday (6th Aug) at 8pm. This is the first senior championship match to be played in the redeveloped state of art alley. This is a great oppertunity for anyone who wants to see handball played at this level. 
 
Connacht 60×30 Championship 
The M Donnelly 60×30 Connacht Championship commences this weekend with two Leitrim compeditors taking part: Drumshanbos Martin Raftery (Junior) and Fenaghs Ed Lee (Emerald Masters). Martin Raftery takes on Mayos Kieran Burke in Drumkeerin on Saturday at 3.00pm while Ed Lee has home advantage when he meets Galways John Ward, also set for Saturday at 3.00 pm in Fenagh. The following weekend Martin Raftery teams up with Jamie Murray in the Connacht 60×30 Doubles Junior Championship.
 
Development Draw 
Fenagh Handball Club are running a Development Fundraising Draw with a first prize of €1000, second prize of €300 and third prize of €100. Tickets are priced at €10 with the draw taking place in Conefreys Abbey Bar on Sunday August 31st.

 

 

04-Aug-14 by Handball PRO

Connacht 40×20 Juvenile B Championship

Leitrims young handballers took on their Sligo counterparts at the weekend in Drumshanbo in the first round of the Connacht B Championship inÓgrades from U11 up to U15.
 
A total of 13 Leitrim competitors took part with three getting through and another two having byes to the semi-finals against Mayo. Leitrims winners were U12 Doubles Fergal McLoughlin and James Wrynn and U14 Singles Oisin McLoughlin. The action started on Friday night with Drumshanbos Edel ODonnell  first up inÓgirls U11 against Laura Foody (Castleconnor) losing 2-15,4-15. The Drumshanbo/Fenagh pairing of Sean Kelly and Ronan Moran took on Cormac Finn and Patrick Cooney (Ballymote) in U11 Doubles and despite battling hard lost on a score line of 6-15, 6-15. The game of the night was the U12 Singles between Eoin McLoughlin (Fenagh) and Conor Finn (Ballymote) with Eoin just losing out by two aces in the Tie-Break having taken the first game 15-13. He lost the second game 7-15 and though leading 8-3 in a tight third game lost on a score of 13-15. The U12 Doubles game between Fergal McLoughlin/James Wrynn (Fenagh) and Daniel Gearity/Brian Byrne (Tubbercurry) didnt match the intensity of the singles match with the Fenagh lads winning comfortably 15-1, 15-4. Drumshanbos David Gallagher came up against Colm Naughton (Castleconnor) in U13 Singles. After getting off to a great start David took the first game 15-9, lost the second one 9-15 and while starting well in the tie break lost on a score line of 8-15. The final game of the night was the U14 Singles between Fenaghs Oisin McLoughlin and
Castleconnors Ronan Wilson with Oisin having a comfortable win on a score of 15-2, 15-6. On Saturday Tom McKeon and Sean McNabola (Fenagh/Drumshanbo) took on Dara Barnes and Fergal Boland (Castleconnor) in U13 Doubles. The Leitrim lads settled well in the first game and went on to win 15-11. The second game slipped away from them and they lost on a score of 7-15. The Sligo lads took control of the Tie-Break having serve and went on to win 4-15. The second match was the U15 Singles of David Wrynn (Fenagh) and Adhorn Quinn (Castleconnor) with David losing on a score line of 10-15, 7-15. The final game of the week-end was the U14 Doubles of James Lennon and Caolan McDermott (Fenagh) and cousins Diarmuid and Vincent Harte (Collooney). The Leitrim lads started well but midway through the game the Sligo duo took control and went on to win 7-15. The Fenagh pairing never got going in the second game and were defeated 1-15. Ciaran McMorrow (Drumshanbo) U11 and Aaron McLoughlin (Fenagh) U16 have byes to the semi-finals.

 

 

25-Mar-14 by Handball PRO

Connacht 40×20 Finals

The Connacht 40×20 Championship has come to its conclusion. Leitrim handballers reached Connacht Finals in three grades: Junior Doubles, U12 and U16 Singles. The Fenagh/Drumshanbo pairing of Shane Doonan and Martin Raftery were defeated in the Junior Doubles Final by Roscommons Dennis Creighton and Sean Jennings on a scoreline of 14-21, 21-20, 16-21.
In the Juvenile A Championship Cormac Scollan (U12) was defeated by Roscommons Liam Egan in a very tight and entertaining game by a single ace in the Tie Break on a score line of 10-15, 15-14, 14-15. Jarlath Scollan (U16) having defeated Mayos Michael Conlon in the Semi-Final came up against the 2013 All-Ireland U15 Champion Desmond Connelly and lost on a score line of 6-21, 5-21. Alan Doonan and Alan Wrynne U16 Doubles were defeated in the Semi-Final by Mayos Martin Mulhern and Matthew Lenehan on a score line of 18-21, 16-21.
The first round of the Juvenile B Championship takes place this week-end with Leitrim having home advantage against Sligo in Drumshanbo on Sunday with games inÓgrades from U11-16 in singles and doubles. 

 

 

19-Mar-14 by Handball PRO

Connacht Colleges 40×20 Championship

Ballinamore Community College represented Leitrim in the Connacht Finals played in St Marys College Galway on Saturday. Taking part were David Wrynn (Junior), Alan Wrynne (Intermediate) and Alan Doonan and Aaron McLoughlin (Intermediate Doubles). All came up against stronger opposition from Mayo Colleges in the Semi-Finals.

 
Connacht Cumann na mBun Scoil Finals 
 
The Connacht Finals were played in Salthill on Sunday with St Patricks NS Drumshanbo and St Caillins NS Fenagh representing Leitrim. Drumshanbo had Edel ODonnell (U11), Ciaran McMorrow (U11) and Conor Flood and Ronan Moran (U11 Doubles). Fenagh were represented by Cormac Scollan (U13) and Fergal McLoughlin and James Wrynn (U13 Doubles). In the U11 competition Ciaran McMorrow finished third In Boys U11 Singles, Ronan Moran and Conor Flood came fourth in Boys U11 Doubles and Edel ODonnell came fourth inÓgirls U11 Singles. In the U13 competition Fergal McLoughlin and James Wrynn took silver in Boys U13 Doubles and Cormac Scollan took bronze in Boys U13 Singles.

 

 

11-Feb-14 by Niall Scollan

Connacht 40×20 Championship

The Connacht 40×20 Championship is under way, with first round games in the Junior B Championship played in Singles and Doubles.  Drumshanbos Leo Logan had home advantage when he came up against Peter Cassidy from Swinford on Sunday January 19th.  In a very tight opening game with the lead changing several times, Leo lost out by three aces 18-21.  The second game didnt go any better for Logan and he was defeated 16-21.  Last Sunday Leo was in action again teaming up with Jamie Murray in the Junior B Doubles.  Peter Cassidy again provided the opposition, this time paired with Seamus Casserly also from Swinford.  The match which was played in Claremorris proved to be a marathon one, lasting nearly three hours.  The Leitrim duo took a hard earned first game on a score line of 21-20.  The second game slipped away from the Leitrim lads with the Cassidy/Casserly combination taking the game 21-16. The tie-break was a very tight game, with the Leitrim lads trailing 17-11 they regained serve and tied the game 17-17.  The lads lost serve and regained it at 19-17 but the Mayo men secured a win on a score of 21-19.  This week-end the Junior Championship and Ladies Championship commences with Martin Raftery taking on Mayos Ciaran Burke or Shane Heraty.  In Ladies Junior B Michelle Gaffney takes on Mayos Shona Ruane.
 
Leitrim Cumann Na mBunscoil Handball Finals  
The Leitrim Finals of Cumann na mBunscoil 40×20 take place this Sunday February 2nd in Drumshanbo HC starting at 3.00pm. The winners qualify for the Connacht Finals on February 16th in Salthill Co. Galway.
 
Leitrim GAA Awards
Congratulations to Mary Shanley (Ladies Handballer), Leo Logan (Senior Handballer), Shane Doonan (Junior Handballer) and Alan Doonan (Juvenile Handballer) who received their awards on Saturday night.

 

 

26-Jan-14 by Niall Scollan

Connacht 60×30 U12 Final

The Connacht 60×30 U12 Final was played last Friday in Roscommon.
 
Cormac Scollan was defeated by Dylan Hanley by a single ace after taking the match to a tie-break. The final finished on a score line of 13-15, 15-10, 14-15.

 

 

04-Nov-13 by Colette Fox – PRO

No Joy For Shane

Shane Doonans dream of reaching another All-Ireland Minor Final was shattered on Sunday as he was comprehensively beaten by Wexfords Galen Riordan on a scoreline of 5-21, 10-21 in The M Donnelly 60×30 Minor Semi-Final.
 
From the start of the game Riordan looked impressive with a powerful serve that Doonan couldnt get to grips with, and to compound matters further Riordan could kill the ball any time he got the opportunity. In the first game aces were hard to come by for Doonan as Riordan was on top of the game in all aspects from his power serve to his dominance in the rallies and his first class kill shots into the right hand corner. Doonan could never pull more than one ace whenever he got serve and the game simply slipped away from him. The second game started better for Doonan  and he kept in sight of Riordan in the early exchanges, he got the upper hand in some of the rallies and got in some great kill shots. However midway through the game Riordan pulled away and closed out the match to secure his place in the All-Ireland Minor Final.
 
In what was a bad week-end for Leitrim handball Drumshanbos Leo Logan lost out to Kilkennys Brendan Burke in the 60×30 Junior B semi-final on a score line of 6-21, 8-21. played in Inchs Point Co. Kilkenny. In the Connacht 60×30 u17 Championship Quarter -Final Fenaghs Aaron Scollan was defeated by Jason Earlis (Castleconnor, Co.Sligo) on a score line of 15-21, 10-21.
 
This week-end The Connacht 60×30 Juvenile Championship semi-finals take place with Cormac Scollan (u12), Alan Doonan (u15) and Jarlath Scollan and Alan Wrynne (u15D) in action.

 

 

26-Aug-13 by Niall Scollan – Handball PRO

Historic First For Fenagh

History will be made next Sunday when the newly renovated Fenagh Handball Alley hosts The M Donnelly 60×30 All-Ireland Minor Semi-Final between Fenaghs own Shane Doonan and Wexfords Galen Riordan.
 
This will be the first major championship match the state of art alley has hosted and an intriguing game is anticipated as Donal Wrynn is the link between these two opponents. Shane Doonan partnered Wrynn to win the 60×30 Doubles Minor title last year, while Galen Riordan was beaten by Wrynn in the 40×20 Minor Final earlier last year. Riordan is not to be under estimated having reached the 40×20 Final again this year, while Doonan has only started back playing handball, having taken a break to concentrate on his studies this year. Having said that Doonan has put in a lot of work over the last few weeks and while he struggled at times in the first game in the Connacht semi-final against Galways Alan Kilboy losing by 2 aces before going on to comprehensively beat him in the second game and then in the tie break. The Connacht Final was played on July 30th in Castlebar against Mayos Darragh Cunnane. Doonan was back in his stride by then and made sure of the title defeating Cunane 21-12, 21-14 with some great serving and kill shots. This is sure to be a tight and tense semi-final in front of a large home crowd with an All-Ireland Final place at stake, but Doonan is no stranger to pressure having played in an U16 semi-final, and Minor 40×20 Doubles semi-final with Donal Wrynn before winning his Minor Doubles title. The Match starts at 3.00pm.
 
The curtain raiser to Sundays game is the Connacht 60×30 Juvenile first round between Leitrim and Sligo. Fenaghs Alan Doonan (U15) and Aaron Scollan (U17) are in action for Leitrim and the games start at 12.00.
 
In another All-Ireland semi-final scheduled for Sunday, Drumshanbos Leo Logan takes on Kilkennys Brendan Burke in The M Donnelly 60×30 Junior B to be played in Inchs Point Kilkenny.

 

 

20-Aug-13 by Niall Scollan – Handball PRO

M Donnelly 60×30 Connacht Championship
 
The 60×30 Connacht Championship kicked off at the weekend with action in Intermediate, Junior B and Minor, with Donal Wrynn, Leo Logan and Shane Doonan in action. Leitrim had home advantage against Galway with the games played in Fenagh on Friday and Saturday evening. First up was Donal Wrynn playing in his first Intermediate Championship against Ollie Conway from Williamstown. The step up from  Minor to Intermediate proved too great for Wrynn as he lost on a scoreline of 12-21,19-21. In the first game Wrynn never got going and trailed Conway from the first serve. The second match went better for Wrynn and he led 19-15 and looked like taking it to a tie break, but he lost serve and Conway closed out the game.
 
The Junior B semi-final followed with Leo Logan taking on Daniel Connaughton also from Williamstown. In a very tight first match Logan came out on top by a single ace 21-20. Buoyed up from the tight win in the first match Logan pulled ahead in the second and eased out a win on a score of 21-12. 
 
The Minor Semi-Final was played on Saturday evening with Fenaghs Shane Doonan having home advantage over Alan Kilboy from Loughrea. This was Doonans first handball action of the year, but he found his rhythm during the first match losing narrowly 19-21. Having serve in the must win second game Doonan raced ahead and went on to win on a score of 21-6, to force a tie break. Having the most aces Doonan had serve for the tie-break which he used to great effect and eased to victory 21-1.  

 

 

23-Jul-13 by Niall Scollan – Handball PRO

Connacht Club Title
 
Fenagh took The Connacht 60×30 Junior Team title on Sunday in St Comans Roscommon where they over came Curraghboy Co. Roscommon by just 2 aces.
 
In a nailbiting final match Martin Raftery went in with Fenagh trailing by 8 aces and showing great composure under pressure took the game 21-10 to win on a scoreline of 103-101. The games are played in the team format of 1 Singles, 1 Doubles and 1 Singles with each playing 2 games to 21 aces with a maximum score of 126.
 
The Fenagh team for the final comprised of Jamie Murray (first singles), Leo Logan and Aaron Scollan (doubles) and Martin Raftery. Against a very strong Curraghboy, Murray took one game, while Logan and Scollan lost both their games leaving Fenagh trailing by 18 aces going into the final two games. Raftery took the first game, but needed to win the second by 10 aces to secure victory. Buoyed up from the first game, with great serving and kill shots he raced into a 16-3 lead before going on to a magnificient victory 21-10, capping a great week-end for the Fenagh clubmen having defeated Williamstown Co. Galway in the semi-final on Saturday on a scoreline of 85-62 without having to play the last game. The Fenagh team for the semi-final was Jamie Murray (first singles) Ed Lee and Leo Logan (doubles) and Martin Raftery. They play The All-Ireland Semi-Final next Saturday.
 

 

 

 

08-Jul-13 by Handball

Handball News 27th May 2013
 
Mark Murphy & Jamie Murray victorious in Michael Hannon Cup
Ballymote HC  hosted the Annual Michael Hannon Memorial Cup on Sunday. Eight doubles teams entered in the 60 x 30 doubles competition with players from Roscommon, Mayo & Sligo taking part. In the Cup final the duo of Mark Murphy (Castleconnor) & Jamie Murray (Fenagh) went all the way defeating Michael McMorrow (St. Marys)& Joe Dowling (Ballaghadeerin) in an exciting final.
Williamstown One Wall Tournament
The annual Williamstown One Wall Tournament took place at the week-end with a number of Leitrim juvenile players taking part inÓgrades from u11-u18. Cormac Scollan succesfully defended the Boys U11 Plate which he won last year defeating Armaghs Fiachra Doyle in the final. Aaron Scollan U18 reached the quarter final stage as did Alan Wrynne U16. Also in the Boys U16 grade Jarlath Scollan and Tony Simms were both defeated at the second round stage as was James Wrynn U12.
Connacht One Championship
The Connacht One Wall Championship takes place this week-end June 1st and 2nd at The Breaffy Sports and Leisure Complex Castlebar with adult and juvenile grades from u12 up.
Games are of 15 min duration or the first to 31.
One Wall Nationals
The One Wall Nationals take place in The Breaffy Sports and Leisure Complex in Castlebar from June 28th-30th. Entries must be in by 31st May and can be done online on the GAA Handball web site.

 

 

28-May-13 by Niall Scollan – Handball PRO

40×20 Junior Nationals
 
The 2013 40×20 Junior Nationals were held in Clare venues over the week-end. Leitrim had four competitors in action Aaron Scollan U17B, Jarlath Scollan U15B, Eoin McLoughlin U11 and Cormac Scollan U11. Aaron Scollan was defeated by Tipperarys Eoin Meagher 10-21, 19-21 having reached the last 16. Jarlath Scollan reached the quarter final in Boys U15B having defeated Mark McDonagh (Galway) in a qualifier round two weeks ago. He defeated Corks Aidan OBrien 15-9, 10-15, 11-5 to set up a quarter final meeting with Tyrones Aaron Owens losing out by a single ace in the tie break. In a very tight quarter final match Owens took the first game 15-7. Going into the second must winÓgame Scollan upped the tempo and with superb serving and kill shots went into a10-0 lead,and took the game on a 15-8 scoreline to force a tie-break. In a very tight and absorbing tie break with great volleys, serving and kill shots Scollan lost serve at 10-10 and Owens got the cruical ace to secure victory.
In the Boys 11 and under Eoin McLoughlin easily overcame the challenge of Corks Tiernan McAllister winning on a scoreline of 11-2, 11-1, to set up a last 32 meeting with Liam Egan (Roscommon), but unfortunately came out the wrong side on a score of 2-11, 4-11. Cormac Scollan went one step further reaching the last 16 defeating James Cummins (Galway) 11-2, 10-11 (Agrigate score 21-13), and Tiernan McGarrity (Tyrone) 11-6, 11-2, to set up a meeting with Wexfords Diarmuid Moore who defeated him 9-11, 6-11. Leitrim had two other competitors in the Nationals, Aaron McLoughlin U15B and Alan Wrynn U15 who were both defeated in the qualifing rounds two weeks ago.

 

 

22-Apr-13 by Niall Scollan – Handball PRO