Archive for category: Handball

Croke Park Date with Destiny for Daniel and Maxim.
The 2025 juvenile 4-wall handball session reaches its conclusion this weekend with the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals up for decision in the National Handball Centre in Croke Park. This year’s finals have special interest from a Leitrim perspective with Fenagh’s Daniel Kane and Annaduff’s Maxim Gilmartin aiming to bring the boys under 15 doubles All-Ireland title to Leitrim.
Having secured their place in the finals by winning the Connacht title in recent weeks, the Leitrim duo enter Court 2 in Croke Park next Saturday to take on a Tyrone pairing of Conor Molloy and Mickey Nugent in the All-Ireland Semi-final.

Maxim, who is a first-year student in Mohill Community College, and Daniel who is in second year in Ballinamore Community School have been masterfully coached by JP Kane and Peter Heaney amongst others. Although entering the contest as underdogs, this ambitious Leitrim partnership have the skills, strength and potential to create a shock and wrestle the title away from Ulster or Munster hands.
Everybody involved with Leitrim Handball wishes Daniel and Maxim the very Best of Luck next weekend.
Go n-éirí an t-ádh le Daniel agus Maxim!

Connacht Cumann na mBunscol Finals.
There were thrills and spills a plenty in Salthill Handball Club on Saturday last when the 2025 Connacht Cumann na mBunscol finals were played off.
Five Leitrim primary schools were represented by an 11 strong team of competitors.
Congratulations and well done to Mark MacShera from St Patricks NS Drumshanbo who won silver in the U13 boys singles category. Mark played exceptionally well on the day beating the talented Roscommon player, and recent Connacht U12 A finalist – Patrick Farrell on his way to the final.
Also, congratulations to Doireann McKiernan and Eimer McKiernan from St Brigid’s NS Drumcong, who secured the bronze medal in the U11 girls doubles grade.
Special mention to Abbie Kane from St Caillins NS Fenagh in the girls U11 singles, and to the Annaduff NS U11 doubles partnership of Conor Cregan & Gerry Sharkey. Both brought their opponents to tiebreak games and were unlucky not to progress in their respective grades. An admirable achievement for these young players in a Connacht final setting!
Other Leitrim players who did well on the day include Ronan Seibert – Gaelscol Chluainin who was playing in the boys U11 singles category. Kian McNabola & Sam Conroy from St Brigid’s NS played in the boys U13 doubles competition. Ciara Conlon & Kayla Crinnigan from St Caillins NS also played in the girls U13 category.
Well done to each and every one of the boys and girls who represented their schools, handball clubs and county with great pride. Win or lose, it was a brilliant fun day that will stay long in the memory.

Connacht Final – Men’s 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐁 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬
Manorhamilton’s Joel Smith and Anthony O’Flynn contested the 40×20 Connacht Final in the Silvers Masters B Doubles grade in Collooney on Saturday evening last. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Joel and Anthony this year as the Mayo duo of Francie McDonagh and James McNulty took the match on a scoreline of 21-12, 21-9.
𝐵𝑒𝑖𝑑ℎ 𝑙𝑎́ 𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑃𝑎𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑐ℎ!

David Mahon
OCP Liathroid Láimhe Liatroma
https://www.facebook.com/LeitrimHandball

Connacht Juvenile A Championship Roundup.
Sunday last was another busy day for Leitrim Handball with over twenty top class Connacht Juvenile A U14 to U17 quarter finals and semi-final matches decided in Fenagh, Annaduff, and also in Collooney Co. Sligo. Eight Leitrim handball players competed on the day across several grades.

Congratulations to Annaduff’s Maxim Gilmartin and Fenagh’s Daniel Kane who comfortably won their U15 doubles semi-final against Mayo opposition, booking their place in next weekend’s Connacht finals in Fenagh. Also, well done but hard luck to Sophie Gallogly, Adam Neary, Eoin Mahon, Gary Cox and Peter Cox who all played very well in their respective semi-final matches but unfortunately came up short of reaching the Connacht finals.

The U14 – U17 Connacht finals will be decided in Fenagh on Sunday next, February 23rd. Maxim and Daniel will also be joined by Fenagh’s Katie Kane who will contest the Girls U17 Singles final. North Leitrim is also represented on Connacht finals day by Cormac Scarff & Tadhg Kirwin who will contest the Boys U16 doubles finals.

A sincere thank you to everyone who helped run things so smoothly in Fenagh, Annaduff and Drumshanbo over the last two weekends. Thanks to everyone who gave up their time to provide snacks and help serve refreshments. Also, a word of thanks to all who refereed the games, updated the online scoreboards, and ensured that the matches ran on schedule.

The very best of luck to Maxim, Daniel, Katie, Cormac and Tadhg in their Connacht Finals next week.

Leitrim Results : Connacht Juvenile 4-wall A Championship 2025 – Feb 16th

• U14 Girls Singles SF    Galway (Mary Bermingham) dft. Leitrim (Sophie Gallogly) : 15-2, 15-6
• U14 Boys Doubles SF   Galway (Dara Greally and Diarmuid Greally) dft. Leitrim (Adam Neary and Eoin Mahon) : 15-2, 15-13
• U15 Boys Singles SF    Mayo (Dillon Sheridan) dft. Leitrim (Peter Cox) : 15-10, 15-8
• U15 Boys Doubles SF   Leitrim (Maxim Gilmartin and Daniel Kane) dft. Mayo (Matthew Foody and Jack O’Connor) : 15-0, 15-0
• U16 Boys Singles QF    Mayo (Finnan Brady) dft. Leitrim (Gary Cox) : 8-21, 21-0, 11-7
• U17 Girls Singles SF    Leitrim (Katie Kane) w/o Galway (Ella Sweeney) scr

Sophie and Ruairi experience Gael Linn National Finals.
Well done but hard luck to Sophie Kane and Ruairi McKiernan who represented Fenagh and Leitrim in the prestigious Gael Linn U13 mixed doubles finals played on Saturday last in Breacach Co. Tyrone. Sophie and Ruairi gave a spirited performance, winning some of their games on the day, however the standard of competition was extremely high. Both players will have learned a lot from the experience.
Everyone at Leitrim Handball is incredibly proud to have young players like Sophie and Ruairi, who are capable of reaching national finals and competing at such a high level. The future is bright for Leitrim Handball.

Recent Teacher Training in Manorhamilton.
Congratulations and well done to the 13 staff members in St. Clare’s Primary School and Masterson National School who recently completed the Teacher In-Service Training delivered by Clare Conway – GAA Handball regional development officer. These staff are now ready to deliver the handball school programme during or after school, utilizing indoor and outdoor spaces. Another arrow in the quiver of Manorhamilton Handball club!
Keep an eye out for a similar teacher training event scheduled for Annaduff in the next few weeks.

David Mahon
OCP Liathroid Láimhe Liatroma
https://www.facebook.com/LeitrimHandball

Leitrim GAA Handball hosts Connacht Juvenile  A Finals.

Co. Leitrim will be the epicentre of Connacht juvenile handball over the next three weekends as Leitrim Handball host the 2025 Connacht Juvenile A finals. 

Proceedings start when Annaduff, Fenagh and Drumshanbo alleys in conjunction with Collooney in Sligo hosting the boys and girls u11, u12 and u13 finals next weekend.  

Best of luck to all the Leitrim Handball participants who will be vying for Connacht glory in their respective categories.

Sophie shows She’s Ace in Clare finals.

Well done to Fenagh’s Sophie Kane who reached the semi-final in the 13 and under category of the She’s Ace Handball Festival last weekend

This annual ladies 4-wall championship took place in Clare over two days, and featured top female players from elite level through to the best in juvenile grades from u11 to u17.

In a packed category, with over 50 players vying for success, Sophie played some unbelievably brilliant 4-wall handball on her path to the semi-final. To reach the last 4 is even more remarkable considering that she still has another year left playing in this age group.

Although a final appearance alluded her this year, there is no doubt that Sophie will carry a favourites tag into next year’s competition.

Maith thú Sophie.

Leitrim 2nd Level Schools Finals round up.

Competitive post-primary schools Handball is experiencing a resurgence this year, with the Connacht 2nd level schools 4-wall handball championship returning to the 2025 event calendar. Following a highly competitive county 2nd level championship playoff in Fenagh last week, Leitrim sends seven top juvenile players to represent their schools at the Connacht Finals hosted in Galway venues on Sunday next, January 26th.

Mohill Community College leads the way with four players in the finals. Peter Cox will compete in the Junior (u15) boys singles grade, while Maxim Gilmartin will take part in the 1st year boys singles event. Additionally, Adam Neary and Eoghan Kelly will team up for the 1st year boys doubles competition.

Ballinamore Community School will have Sophie Kane in the 1st year girls singles, and she will also be joined by Ella Crinnigan who will compete in the junior (u15) girls singles. St Clare’s Comprehensive School Manorhamilton will be represented by Cormac Scarff in the Intermediate (U17) boys single competition.

Best of luck to all the players next weekend. Beir Bua!

Ballinamore transition year students try handball.

A big well done to all the transition year students in Ballinamore Community school who had the opportunity to try handball last Friday as part of the GAA Future Leaders Programme.

Clare Conway, the GAA Handball regional development officer for Leitrim, delivered an engaging presentation to the class and demonstrated a variety of simple drills, highlighting the numerous fitness benefits of this fast-paced, skillful, highly entertaining, and fully inclusive sport. She also explained how easy it is to get started— all you need is a ball and a wall.

If you’re a teacher interested in hosting a similar event at your school, or if you’d like to learn more about the benefits of GAA Handball, there will be in-service teacher training in Leitrim later this month. For more information, reach out to Leitrim Handball via their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LeitrimHandball) or contact your local club in Annaduff, Fenagh, Drumshanbo, or Manorhamilton.

David Mahon
OCP Liathroid Láimhe Liatroma
https://www.facebook.com/LeitrimHandball

2025 is less than one week old and Leitrim Handball is already celebrating a rare multiple medal success at international level! Building on their recent World Championships titles, Fenagh’s Kane family augmented their growing reputation in1-wall circles bringing back a gold, silver and bronze medal from the European 1-wall Tour – Junior Open which took place in Menaldum, Netherlands on Friday and Saturday last.

Sophie Kane made short work of a packed international field to claim the girls u13 European title. Entering the arena at 7:30am Friday morning, she put in a sterling performance to cruise through her 4 group and 2 playoff games in under three hours, dropping no more than 4 points in any of her sets! This result cements Sophie’s status as the top u13 girls 1-wall player at European and world level.

Not one to rest on her laurels, on Saturday Sophie renewed her successful world championship doubles partnership with Tipperary’s Molly Joyce. Playing in an U15 category, Sophie and Molly fought off older pairings for a place in the European doubles final. Up against a strong Belgian & English doubles combination in the final, Sophie and Molly gave it their all but finished in second place claiming the European silver medals.

Older sister Katie competed in the European girls u17 singles competition. Flying out of the traps, Katie topped her group beating England’s number 1 player along the way. Despite playing well, Katie bowed out in the semi-final to eventual winner Eloise Clément from Belgium.  A European bronze medal is a magnificent achievement for Katie.

Katie’s younger brother Daniel also participated in the European boys u15 competition. He played exceptionally well, doing enough to exit a tough group and make it to the quarter final stage. A highly commendable achievement in a very packed field.   Well done, Daniel.

Sophie, who is also shortlisted for the Leitrim Junior Sports Individual 2024 award, is the first Leitrim Handballer to achieve international title success since Donal Wrynn back in 2009.
Congratulations and well done to Sophie, Katie, Daniel and all involved in Fenagh Handball. Exciting times ahead.

David Mahon
PRO Leitrim Handball

Last Sunday Leitrim hosted the Connaught A Juvenile Finals in Drumshanbo and Fenagh Handball Clubs. Seven finals were played in Drumshanbo and six in Fenagh. This is the top level of Handball in Connaught and saw players from all 5 Connaught counties coming to Leitrim. The only Leitrim player taking part in the competition was Ciaran McMorrow from Drumshanbo Handball Club. Ciaran was narrowly beaten in the final by Cormac Finn from Sligo and came away with the Silver Connaught Medal.

Leitrim Handball would like to thank all the volunteers who took part in the event, the Referees, the Ladies who provided food and to all the supporters on the day.