Gerry Coleman World handball haul
The Sligo handball season began slowly but
picked up great momentum the longer it went on.
Nobody could have envisaged a number of young and seasoned stars
reaching dizzying heights in handball this year, writes Michael McGee.
Quinn’s breakthough
Aoife Quinn
from the Castleconnor club grabbed the headlines with a brilliant display in
the O’Neill’s Sponsored 40 x 20 Nationals held in Clare. Last April, Aoife made history when she became
the first player to win a National title (Girls 15 & Under) at Juvenile level in over 20 years. The Castleconnor club starlet has been knocking
on the door in the last couple of seasons and finally made the historic
breakthrough with a dazzling display. Quinn was on fire all weekend and reached
the final with impressive displays. In the final she came up against Laois’s
Avril Deegan. Quinn was unstoppable right from
the “get go”. Deegan could not handle Quinn’s accurate serving as the Sligo
star racked up scores taking game one by 15-6. The
second game Quinn was pushed all the way but she stayed strong and in one of
her best performances to date she came through in a thrilling finish to capture
the national handball title by 15-12.
Aoife is coached by her father Oisin and already it is proving a formidable
winning formula. Quinn was also a member of the winning Connacht girls team of
10 that won the national title in 2011 and gained great experience. Quinn could
add another title to her nationals crown when she teams up with club mate
Marianna Foody . The duo take on the
Leinster Colleges Champions in the Girls
Junior doubles All-Ireland Colleges 60 x 30 semi-finals next Saturday. Quinn looks set for a very bright future in
handball and future success is imminent.
Coleman’s World medal haul
In August further news came filtering through of Gerry
Coleman’s sensational achievements in the World Police & Fire games held in
Belfast in early August, winning 3 World handball medals (5 in total). Coleman a member of the Curry G.A.A Club
excelled in the games in 3 different sporting disciplines. Coleman who works as a Nursing Officer in
Loughlan House in Cavan faced stiff competition with players from Mexico, Portugal, Spain,
Northern Ireland, U.S.A, & Ireland all taking part in a strong
International field. Unbelievably Coleman exceeded all expectations even
by his own high standards when he won a Bronze medal in the Over 40’s One-Wall,
Bronze in the 40 x 20 Four Wall event, Silver in the Over 40’s doubles with
L.A.P.D. Officer Oscan DeSilva. Not content with the handball medals
Coleman also won a Bronze with the Fire Service G.A.A Over-35 team and also a
silver medal in the dragon boat team of 10. An outstanding achievement for the Curry club
man.
Paddy
Walsh Sligo handball legend
It was going to
be hard to top that for a Sligo handball player but one man did just that on
September 14th last. That man
is the legendary Paddy Walsh from the St. Mary’s handball club. Walsh went all the way to win his 29th
All-Ireland handball title in a glorious career. The Sligo sporting star has
been winning All-Ireland handball titles since 1974. Paddy made the long journey to Tuamgraney in
Co Clare to take on Cork’s Pat O’Brien in the final of the Over 70’s
All-Ireland 60 x 30 final. O’Brien had beaten our man in the All-Ireland 40 x
20 final last April. Walsh the Sligo handball
warrior this time was ready and went into battle in confident mood.
As the game
unfolded Walsh had a whirlwind start going into a commanding 18-1 lead in the
final and took that first game by 21-6. In the 2nd it was level at
13-13 and yet again Walsh weaved his magic to run out a comfortable winner in
the end by 21-13. The return trip to Sligo must have one of the shortest and
the sweetest ever in Paddy Walsh’s distinguished career. I believe the Clare banner roar could be
heard in Collooney later that evening.
At 73 years of age it’s worth thinking for a
few moments what this man has achieved in a lifelong association to Sligo
G.A.A. in the last 6 decades. For many
years the inspirational Walsh represented Sligo at senior level in handball.
Paddy was also an accomplished Gaelic Foootball
player and played on the Sligo Senior G.A.A teams in the sixty’s and won six
County Senior club titles with Collooney/Ballisodare and 1 with St. Mary’s to
his credit. After excelling on the G.A.A fields he turned his attentions to the
small ball game of handball with amazing results. Shortly afterwards Walsh won his first
All-Ireland title back in 1974 with partner Eamonn Hannon in Croke Park. He had to wait until 1982 for his next title with
the Masters A singles coming to Sligo.
In the 1990’s
& 2000’s he racked up an astonishing 27 All-Ireland singles & doubles
titles with partners (Mick Kelly & Padraig Maye) . In one year alone Paddy won 4 All-Ireland titles in both 60 x 30 & the 40 x 20
handball courts an astonishing achievement.
What is even
more amazing about Paddy Walsh’s achievements he also had two hip operations in
2004 & 2005 and has come back to his brilliant best since then.
Paddy was
honoured at the G.A.A Handball All-Stars banquet in Croke Park where he
received the “Special Achievement Award” from the then Irish Handball President
Tony Hannon in 2009.
The affable
player also trains the Juvenile handball players in Collooney and has already
coached many young players to numerous Connacht handball titles and takes great
pride in his young stars achievements. He is a vital team player to the
Collooney handball club fundraising project for the 40 x 20 handball court
currently in progress. He has worked vigorously to make sure the project will
be a great success and was one of the first players to suggest a 40 x 20 court
to be built in Collooney back in 2007. He
has undertaken fundraising for the Collooney handball court from as far away as
America. Because of this and his unstinting work in the Collooney handball club
he was nominated to deliver the commencement notice to Sligo County Council for
the new handball court. Just last Thursday (October 10th) Walsh received a Civic Reception from the Sligo Lord Mayor Marcella McGarry for
his outstanding achievements in handball. His exploits on the handball courts
all over Ireland are legendary. Walsh has already left an indelible mark on
Sligo handball and he will go down in history as Sligo’s greatest ever handball
player. Today we applaud all 3 stars (Aoife Quinn, Gerry Coleman & Paddy
Walsh) for their extraordinary feats on the handball courts all over Ireland in
2013, with breathtaking results in the Sligo colours.
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