The 2010 handball season kicked off over the weekend with the Memorial Tournament at Ballaghaderreen, Roscommon, taking centre stage. Kilkenny’s Michael ‘Ducksy’ Walsh was once again in action and showed he is still able to mix it with the young guns in the event, defeating Mayo's Dessie Keegan in their quarter-final showdown.
Other stars in action over the weekend were Dublin's Eoin Kennedy who collected his first title of the 2010 handball season, when he defeated Westmeath's Robbie McCarthy in the final.
Kennedy was in devastating form over the weekend and blasted Wicklow's Michael Gregan off the court in their semi-final meeting on a 21-8, 21-8 scoreline. With the majority of the top senior players in action over the three day event, many were anxious to get their seasons off to a healthy start. There were strong performances from Wexford's Gavin Buggy, who dispatched of Meath's Brian Carroll in his opening game; Gregan also showed his class when he overcame Armagh's Charlie Shanks in the quarter-final, staging a dramatic comeback to take a 21-16, 21-20 victory.
While Cavan's Paul Brady and Cork's Tony Healy, Ireland's number one and two seeds, were notable absentees, this tournament oozed class, and with the huge attendance, looks likely to become an annual event on the GAA Handball calendar.
In the final, McCarthy opened with intent and hit some superb killshots before Kennedy settled into his stride, but once the Dubliner found his rhythm, he never looked back. Kennedy took the first game 21-13, and carried his form into the second, winning 21-8, with the young Westmeath ace finding it difficult to break the stride of the current 60x30 All-Ireland Champion.
On a different note, following several sponsored events over the past number of years, Ducksy along with the Kilkenny senior hurling panel and Kilkenny Senior Hurling Manager Brian Cody will cycle around Kilkenny in March 2010 where they hope to raise much needed funds which will be donated to Enable, Ireland.
